


Treacherous Affairs - Scisaac

by BekkaChaos



Series: Dangerous Liaisons [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Beacon Hills, College, Danger, Death, F/M, Fluff, Long, Love, M/M, NSFW, Romance, Scisaac - Freeform, Sex, Smut, Supernatural Creatures, Supernatural Elements, Werewolf Hunters, dirty - Freeform, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-01-14 18:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 53
Words: 273,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1276063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BekkaChaos/pseuds/BekkaChaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sequel to Dangerous Liaisons - centred around Scisaac but also a very heavy Sterek presence. Set months later the pack are facing their final year of high school, college, their first Christmas together and something far worse on it's way that will shake them all down to their cores.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

“Come on, she’s never even going to know.” Isaac said as he and Scott sat surrounded by books at his kitchen table.

“Isaac, no. Seriously, this is my kitchen.” Scott said, shaking his head.

“So? We’ve done it in Derek’s kitchen.”

“Yeah, that’s Derek’s kitchen, where he does god knows what else. This is my kitchen; I eat dinner here with my mom.” Scott hissed, pretending to read.

“Oh come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” Isaac waggled his eyebrows and Scott shook his head without looking up.

“She could get home any time.” He said.

“And we can hear for like a mile, plus maybe it’s time she found out.” Isaac managed to sneak that one in there and Scott looked up with a stern face.

“Not like that.”

It had been just over two months since they had first got together and Scott was still cautious about telling his mother. She could handle him being a werewolf so why wouldn’t she be able to handle him being in love with another guy? Isaac didn’t know why he wouldn’t tell her but he tried not to push the matter too much. He knew that they were going to have to say something at some point.

“Don’t you love me?” Isaac pouted out his bottom lip and Scott let out a huffing sound.

“You know I love you, that doesn’t mean I have to just blurt that out to her.”

He knew that Scott loved him; of course he knew that, he said it enough. He was just a little cranky that he couldn’t tell her about them. Granted, if Isaac’s dad was around he wouldn’t be rushing off to tell him, but Scott’s mom was different.

She even let Isaac stay there for a while when he was sick of living with Stiles and Derek, who had no regard for the other inhabitants of the house.

Either way he was going to let it slide, again, because they had been at school all day and studying all afternoon, and he had plenty of time to convince Scott later.

“You want to go upstairs then?” He raised an eyebrow and Scott tried to hide his smile as he looked up from his book.

He tossed it onto the table and they both scrambled away and up the stairs to Scott’s bedroom. They had barely made it through the door before they were tumbling back onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.

Isaac grabbed Scott by his wrists and pinned him back, grazing his teeth over his jaw line and ran his tongue over his bottom lip. Scott bucked up with his hips and struggled to get out from under Isaac, not enough to actually make a difference.

“Hey, who said you could do that?” Isaac growled, his lips slowly caressing Scott’s neck.

“I didn’t think you’d mind…” Scott gave another few bucks; grinding their hips together and making Isaac bite his lip.

“You want to be in control, get on top.” Isaac smirked and Scott laughed.

Isaac pushed his shirt up and licked him from his navel to his sternum, pausing only to pull his nipple in between his lips, causing Scott to let out a low groan. He flicked his tongue back and forth and Scott parted his lips and exhaled heavily.

“God you’re hot…” Isaac whispered and Scott grinned.

“Don’t…” He panted.

“You are…” Isaac said as he shimmied down Scott’s sweats and took a hold of his solid extended cock, and gave it a few short tugs.

Scott inhaled sharply. “And you’re way too good at that.”

“Tell me what you want me to do then.” Isaac improvised and Scott smiled.

“I thought you were in… oh… in control…”

“Well I know what I’d do to you… if you want…” He felt Scott tense up a little and hoped to god he wouldn’t pull away and make him stop.

“Uh… this, this is good… actually I’d rather you put your mouth to better use.” He said, giving Isaac a sensual grin.

“I can do that.” Isaac said, slightly disheartened but not enough to stop him.

He pressed his tongue flat against the base and slowly slid it upwards until he was swirling it around the tip. Taking it into his mouth he wrapped his hand around him and gave a few pumps as he slowly sucked on the head.

He pressed his tongue against the tip as he takes more of him in.

“Oh Fuck –” Scott said, lifting his hips to give Isaac even more.

Isaac couldn’t help letting out a groan as he took Scott’s cock all the way to the back of his throat and Scott let his toes curl at the feel of it.

Isaac’s hands reached around to grab Scott’s ass cheeks firmly, using them to pull his hips into him, slamming his own lips down until they couldn’t go any further. He reached into his own jeans and took hold of his cock as Scott gripped his fingers in his hair.

Pulling back Scott sat up until they were both on their knees. “Let me take care of that.” He said huskily and reached into Isaac’s jeans, taking his cock in his hand and rubbing his thumb in the hot sticky pre come on the head.

Isaac grabbed Scott tightly by the waist and buried his face in his neck. He took his hand and brought it back to his shaft so they were both pumping one another furiously. Isaac lifted his chin to kiss Scott through his laboured breathing. Their lips were pressed together but it was hardly a kiss, more the sharing of breath, the intimacy was undeniable.

It didn’t take long for them to reach climax, almost simultaneously before falling back beside one another in a hot mess. Scott smiled in his elated state and Isaac reached out to take his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“You know, we should get back to study.” Scott said.

“You can't be that concerned about your grades, it’s only week one.” Isaac grinned.

“Hey, I promised my mom I would try.”

Isaac sighed. “Yeah, okay then. Meet you down there?” He said as he got up to walk to the bathroom.

“Are… are you okay?” Scott sat up and asked with a tilt of his head.

Isaac gave him a grin. “Yeah but I think your mom’s back and I need to clean up a bit.”

Scott laughed. “Yeah okay.”

Isaac headed out of the room and into the bathroom where he locked the door as he straightened himself up. He sighed to himself. He and Scott worked so well together but something was missing. They still hadn’t made that final step to physically complete the relationship.

Isaac knows that it is a big step, especially for them, but he’s starting to feel like Scott is ashamed. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t want to tell his mother either. Maybe it’s something to do with Allison, he thought. He was pretty sure that she didn’t know about them yet, that was just Boyd, Erica, Stiles and Derek. Jackson probably had a clue but he hadn’t said anything and Isaac almost wished that it was out in the open.

Maybe that would make Scott accept their relationship for exactly what it was but at the moment, he seemed to be holding back.

That was not the case for Derek and Stiles.

 

“Oh God… Derek!” Stiles’ voice echoed through the loft as Derek tilted his hips up and thrust himself even deeper into him.

His ankles rested on Derek’s shoulders, his jeans pulled down to mid-thigh and Derek’s only unzipped enough to do as he pleased.

Stiles had come back from school to find Derek doing sit ups. Well, he was hanging from the rafters doing air sit ups but still. It’s not like it took much to get Derek in the mood, all it really took was one hot kiss and next thing he knew Derek was more than a few inches deep inside him.

“You’re fucking amazing…” Stiles panted.

“You never shut up do you?” Derek said with a circle of his hips that made Stiles’ groan get caught in his throat and come out in a much higher pitch.

“You… you love it.”

Derek’s lips made a crescent shape and he let out a growl as he pulled himself out and lay back on the couch for Stiles to lower himself back onto him. There were cracks in his voice as he felt Stiles’ heat engulf him once more.

It was only a few thrusts of his hips before his stomach had tightened and the waves of pleasure ripped through him. Stiles only had to rub his cock against his hand once before he was coming too, making a mess of Derek’s chest, not that he seemed to mind.

Had they been upstairs in Derek’s giant comfy bed they may have laid like that for a while but Stiles climbed off and lay on his back on the floor, unable to use his legs completely yet.

“You know… if you do that every time I get home from school… it might make the idea of sitting through another day… bearable.” He panted.

Derek’s head may still have been spinning but he managed to raise an eyebrow and look down at him from the couch. “Might?”

Stiles chuckled. “Well your game might be slipping a bit Derek… yesterday was like… unbelievable but today was… well, I believed it.” He smiled, knowing that it was stirring Derek up even if there wasn’t any truth to it.

“I didn’t even see you yesterday, remember?”

“Really? Oh… well it must have been a dream then. Still, dream Derek is upping his game, maybe you should too.”

“You’re delirious, and that’s good enough for me.” He said, standing up off the couch.

“That’s all you’re aiming for? Good enough? Hey, where are you going?” Stiles sat up, his body still tingling.

“To shower Stiles.” He said as he walked towards the stairs.

“Wait up!”

They both headed up the stairs, Derek shutting all the possible doors in between him and Stiles, just to make it difficult. When he got to the bathroom he pulled down his jeans and kicked them to the side, groaning when he saw the pile that had formed on one side. It was a mix of clothes from Stiles and Isaac, and possibly even one of Scott’s shirts and he wished he had gone to the ensuite rather than the communal teenager bathroom.

When Stiles made it in Derek gave him a sharp glare.

“Who said this was your laundry basket?” He said pointing to the clothes as he stepped under the hot water.

“Sorry, didn’t think you’d mind.” Stiles shrugged.

“You’re a bunch of slobs, all of you. Erica was here for five minutes the other day and I could follow the line of crumbs from her potato chip bag to the kitchen.” He grunted.

“Hey, hey, take it easy, I’ll clean them up if you want.” Derek narrowed his eyes as Stiles stepped into the shower. “Okay, clearly you want.”

Derek turned his back on him, lathering up his hands with the bar of soap. Stiles tilted his head and he knew that something was on his mind. Obviously it had to be. Those clothes had been there for a week and he hasn’t said anything. Stiles also found it strange that he had been exercising when he showed up, he had called first to tell him that he was about ten minutes away so he wouldn’t have started a new work out. Not to mention he was working out in his jeans.

He’s been strange for the last few days actually, Stiles thought. He put his arms around Derek’s waist, almost expecting him to flinch away but he didn’t, instead he gently caressed Stiles’ arms until he was lacing their fingers together with a sigh.

“You know I didn’t mean any of that stuff I said before, right?” Stiles asked, pressing his lips gently into Derek’s skin.

“I know you didn’t, I have no doubt in my ability to please you.” He said, snapping a little but not letting go of Stiles’ hands.

“So what’s up then Mr Confidence?” Stiles asked with a smile and Derek shook his head.

“It’s nothing alright?”

“Derek…” He said nothing, just stared down at their interlinked hands. “Derek you promised.” Stiles muttered and Derek rolled his eyes, letting go to turn around and face him.

He pulled Stiles against him and held on to his hips as Stiles looped his arms around his neck. “You know I don’t do this very well.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Actually I’ve thought you’ve been amazing.” Stiles shrugged, rubbing gently at the base of Derek’s neck.

“You don’t know any better.” He muttered.

“True… but I know you’re trying to talk to me more.” He said.

“There’s just… there’s just a lot going on at the moment.”

Stiles wasn’t too sure what he meant, with barely any supernatural worries in two months things have seemed eerily calm and settled. He really hoped that wasn’t a bad omen.

“Like what?” He asked.

“Would you calm down? Your heart is beating faster than it was when we were on the couch out there.” Derek said, noticing the worry on Stiles’ face.

“I highly doubt that.”

“Stiles…” Derek grumbled.

“Okay, okay, what’s going on Derek?” He asked, finally getting rid of his sarcasm and humour to get down to it.

“It’s your senior year, you’ve got college coming… it just…” He grunted, absolutely hating this talking thing but he knew that it made Stiles happy so he tried. “It brings back memories is all.” He said through gritted teeth.

Stiles nodded and pulled him in tightly, nuzzling into his neck and Derek did the same. Stiles knew that he was trying and he didn’t want to push him to say any more so he just waited, his lips gently pecking Derek’s shoulder and his thumb caressing the back of his head.

“It’s been too quiet over the summer.” He added and Stiles chuckled a little.

“Why can’t anyone just be happy that we aren’t fighting off deadly creatures for once? It doesn’t have to be on the go all the time.” He said.

“I know, it just seems like it’s going too well.” Derek said.

“Tell me about it.” Stiles mumbled and this time it was Derek’s turn to laugh.

“If you’re going to get all sappy I swear I’ll get out.” He said.

Stiles looked up at him with the dopiest grin on his face. “I love you Derek.” He said cheekily.

Derek’s jaw set in a hard line and he rolled his eyes.

“Come on… you promised not to be such a sour wolf.” Stiles smiled.

“No, I said I would forcibly get you to stop calling me that.” He said.

“Come on, I won't say it again for the rest of the day.”

“That’s really the best I get isn’t it?” Derek raised an eyebrow and Stiles grinned.

Derek shook his head and leant in to kiss his lips softly before mumbling quietly against them.

“I love you too.”

 

 

Isaac and Scott walked down the stairs; all smiles. The chuckled to one another as they walked back into the kitchen.

“Hey boys…” They both jumped a mile when they saw her standing with her arms folded and hip popped staring back at them.

“Mom! God, you scared me.” Scott said.

“Why, what are you hiding?”

Scott’s eyes widened. “Nothing!”

“Listen Scott, if you want to go up to your room to play video games that’s fine but can you at least clear off my damn table?” she said and Isaac heard Scott’s heartbeat lower substantially, making him sigh a little.

“Yeah mom, sorry.” He smiled.

“Isaac you staying for dinner?” Melissa asked.

“I would love to.” He said, giving Scott a smile that made his ears turn slightly pink.

“Great, I’ll grab out another plate and when you’re done studying make some room for the food please.” She said as she headed to the fridge to grab out some food for dinner.

“You want to finish this chemistry stuff then?” Scott asked Isaac.

He shrugged. “Not really but I guess we should.”

Scott sat back down and fell straight back into it while Isaac made faces at having to study but he knew it would probably end up better for him anyway.

 

Isaac always loved having dinner with Scott and his mom, she made him feel so welcome and it was the closest thing to having a family that he could remember. After he helped her clean-up he and Scott went upstairs to actually play some video games. When Melissa walked past the bedroom door she poked her head through.

“Don’t stay up too late, you’ve got school tomorrow remember.” She said.

“Promise I’ll try and sleep by eleven.” Scott grinned.

“Make sure that you do.” Melissa said with a narrowing of her eyebrows.

“Good night Ms McCall.” Isaac smiled.

She gave him one in return. “Good night Isaac.” She said as she left the doorway and headed for her bed room.

“How late is it?” Isaac asked.

Scott shrugged. “Late enough.” He dropped his controller on the floor and stretched out with a yawn.

“Tired?”

He shrugged again. “I guess, more just not looking forward to school.”

“Hey you’re the one who committed to doing some actual study this year.” Isaac said.

“I know but I promised my mom I would, after all this wolf stuff I think she just wishes I would do some normal teenager stuff.”

“You realise that normal teenagers are lazy and don’t get good grades because they’re too busy being out with their friends, right?” He teased.

“Yeah, their human friends.”

“You have human friends.”

“Who? Stiles, Lydia and Allison?”

“Would you count Danny?”

“Maybe, I don’t know, he’s Jackson’s friend and Jackson doesn’t want him involved in werewolf stuff. I guess it’s kind of nice to keep that separate from someone and not have to worry about it.”

Isaac nodded. “Is that why you don’t want to tell her about us? Because there’s already been so much change?” He added slowly.

Scott turned to him with a pleading look and Isaac felt guilty again. “I do want to tell her.” He said.

Isaac nodded without looking at him and Scott sighed. He crawled closer and rested his chin on Isaac’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around him and just stared into his eyes as Isaac tried not to look at him.

“I just don’t want her to feel like everything is changing all at once you know?” He murmured and Isaac sighed.

He turned his head slowly and looked straight into Scott’s big brown apologetic eyes. “Yeah Scott, I know.”

Scott knew that he wasn’t okay with it but he knew that Isaac wouldn’t get mad or try to argue if he said he needed more time. He was wonderful in that way, in almost every way. He tilted his head to give him a soft peck on the lips before he nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

“I love you.” He said.

Isaac kissed his ear and rested his cheek against Scott’s hair. “I know that too.” He whispered. “Let’s just go to bed then.” He said and Scott reluctantly pulled away, getting up to shut his door.

Isaac unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them off, leaving them lying beside the bed as he climbed in. Scott did the same, also pulling his shirt over his head before crawling in beside him.

He took Isaac by the waist and pulled him back into him, plastering their bodies together and slipping his arm around to tangle with Isaac’s fingers. He kissed his shoulder blades through the thin fabric and Isaac closed his eyes, lifting their hands up so that he could brush Scott’s fingers against his lips and taking one of his fingertips between his lips and giving it the slightest sweep with his tongue.

Scott smiled. “That’s not going to help me sleep.” He said and Isaac grinned wickedly.

“Hey, I said let’s go to bed, I never said anything about sleeping.”


	2. Chapter Two

The next morning Melissa was standing downstairs stirring her coffee when she heard the two boys upstairs staring to argue, loudly this time.

She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying but she knew that there was something wrong. It’s probably just some teenage nonsense that I’m far too old for now, she thought, or it could be some werewolf nonsense that I really don’t need to deal with. Either way she just sat down and tried not to pry as she read the morning paper.

She heard a door slam and some heavy feet that she knew to be her son’s come galumphing down the stairs. He had his bag slung over his shoulder and a scowl on his face as he stormed past the kitchen.

“Morning Scott!” She called.

“I’ll see you after school mom!” He called back and she flinched at the sound of the front door slamming behind him.

He’s always been a door slammer when he gets angry. When he’s just annoyed he gives you a blank stare and just shuts the door on you. Melissa thought about it again and heard the second set of feet come walking down the stairs, slower this time.

Isaac walked into the doorway and gave Melissa a weak smile. “Sorry about all the noise.” He said.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, just some pack stuff.” He lied.

Melissa sighed, “I thought that might be it. I swear I’ll never get used to this werewolf thing.” She chuckled a little and Isaac just nodded again. She cocked her eyebrow at him. “Are you sure he’s okay?” She asked again.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine.”

“Are you okay?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I’m great, just fine.”

“You know you can talk to me if you need to Isaac, I know you’ve had some bad things happen in your life and… well if you do need anyone to talk to I really don’t mind.” She gave him a smile but unfortunately that just made him feel worse.

“I know, thanks Ms McCall.” He said as he hitched up his backpack and headed for the door.

“Teenage boys…” she muttered to herself before taking a sip of her coffee.

 

 

Stiles – 

 

Last day of the first week, I am seriously starting to wish it was over already because this year is going to be a bitch. Not to mention that we have prom coming up and I am totally not going to be able to take Derek.

I mean the school is a little more flexible about that kind of stuff now, but Derek is like, in his twenties and I’m still seventeen so they’re probably not going to be so hot on that. It’s mostly because Derek would rather die than come to the prom with me because he just doesn’t do that.

His idea of going out for dinner is buying take-out and sitting in the forest or other such uninhabited places. Don’t get me wrong it’s fucking awesome but dinner with actual plates would be nice sometime too.

Anyway he practically kicked me out of the loft earlier because he had some super-secret werewolf shiz-nit to see to. He wouldn’t tell me what it was but I seriously hope that Peter has nothing to do with it.

After everything he did earlier in the summer, what with the manipulation and evil-doings and all, Derek gave him a pretty good beating to put him in his place. I’ve got to say that was one of the highlights of my summer.

I mean he didn’t want Derek and me to be together because he would feel less powerful next to Derek who had completed a trigger bond. I hope he feels a little less powerful around me too; I’ve been ready for anything since we sealed the bond. I still can't get used to that, it sounds so weird rolling off my tongue but Derek says that if I describe it in any other way he’ll rip my throat out, yeah, you guessed it, with his teeth.

He’s quite possibly the sexiest man alive but he really needs to find some new comebacks. I may have mentioned that to him once or twice to no avail.

Wait, where was I? Right, this year is going to suck.

Senior year means SAT’s and actually having to study for once. Why did I have to get myself a sexy distracting boyfriend this year?

I’m only just getting to school now – after having been kicked out of the loft for the werewolf convention – so I shut the door on the jeep and headed into the school where the bell was about to ring and people were slowly milling about and heading to their classes.

I had chemistry up first with Scott. I walked around to the labs and found the right room, heading inside and giving Scott a smile that he didn’t return as I walked over to him.

Oh good, he had his sad-werewolf look on today. Something’s got to be up.

“Hey man what’s up?” I said as I sat down in the chair beside him.

“Nothing.” He said flatly.

“Are you okay?” I said.

“I’m fine.” He said, not looking up.

He is most definitely not fine, in fact he looks kind of grumpy. “What’s the matter Scott? Cat got your tongue?” I grinned and waggled my eyebrows a bit.

He looked up really slowly with a glare that would give Derek a run for his money. I put my hands up in defeat.

“Alright, okay, I’ll shut up.” I said, turning to the front of the class and tapping my foot under the desk.

After a few minutes of that he clenched his fist and looked up slowly again and my smile dropped pretty much instantly. “Really Stiles?” He said impatiently.

I raised my eyebrows and gave him a sarcastic ‘sorry’ face before turning back to my page as Mr Harris walked in. This is going to be a long day if he’s going to be in this kind of mood.

The rest of the class went by pretty slowly. He didn’t laugh at any of my jokes and he was out the door the second the bell had gone. I gathered my stuff and Danny walked over to me from his desk.

“Hey, I noticed Scott’s pretty grumpy today, any chance he and Jackson are having the same issues?” He asked as I shoved my book into my backpack.

“Honestly Danny I couldn’t tell you because I got like five words out of him today. Why, what’s going on with Jackson?”

“He’s just been snapping at me for the last few days.”

“Isn’t that basically your average day for him?” I smirked.

“To you maybe.” I nodded with a bit of a shrug because hey, he was right. “I just figured since he’s been hanging around with you guys a lot lately you might know why he’s been in a bad mood.”

“I don’t know Danny, I don’t think Scott’s thing is at all related.”

He sighed, clearly worried about Jackson. “I just barely see him anymore, it’s like he’s completely turned into someone else.”

I felt kind of sorry for the guy. Apart from me, no one has actually told him what the hell has been going on, and even then he didn’t believe me because we were both drunk and it was a story about freaking werewolves. There was no way anyone would believe it unless they actually saw it, maybe that’s why I haven’t told my dad, I don’t really want him to have to see it anyway.

“How about you come over to Derek’s place tomorrow night? We’re going to have a few drinks and hopefully that’ll make Jackson a little… fluffier.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Fluffier?”

“Okay, so maybe that is the last thing I would call him but seriously, Derek will get some booze and we’ll make sure they perk up a bit.” I shrugged.

He looked a little sceptical but he gave me a smile anyway. “Sure, just text me tomorrow then.” He gave me a smack on the shoulder and headed out of class.

I winced a little but hoisted up my bag and headed out for the rest of the day.

It wasn’t that bad but Scott was just as cranky as ever, it wasn’t until after the final bell that he sent me a message asking me to meet him at his place because he’d been an a-hole all day. He didn’t say that exactly but he meant it.

His place was on the way to mine so I figured I’d just head on over. He might not be there but I know a thing or two about breaking into Scott’s house, I’ve done it multiple times.

I drove over and parked out the front on the grass, hopping out and walking up to the door. I knocked a couple of times but no one answered so I guess Scott isn’t home yet. I wandered around to the side and started climbing up the guard on the side of the house to get to his room when I heard the door open.

“Oh shit.” I said as I jumped back down and stumbled, Ms McCall yelling in fright when she saw me.

“Holy crap Stiles! What the hell are you doing?!” She held a hand to her heart and exhaled heavily.

“Uh… I was here to see Scott.” I said.

“He’s not home yet! Didn’t you just spend the whole day at school together?”

“You know you’re still yelling right?”

“I know Stiles!” I flinched and nodded, twiddling my thumbs a little. “Sorry,” she said with a breath to calm herself down. “Come in, through the door this time.” She held it open and I walked back up the steps and into the foyer.

“Sorry for scaring you out of your mind.” I said.

“It’s fine, you I’m used to. Did you want something to drink?” She asked as we walked into the kitchen and I sat down at the table.

“Uh, water’s good.” I said.

I watched her pour two glasses before setting one down in front of me and sitting in the chair opposite Okay, something’s got to be going on.

“Thanks.”

“Stiles…”

“Yeah?” I asked, taking a sip.

“Is there something going on with Scott?” She asked and I took an even longer sip.

“Uh, no. No, not… that I know of. Why?”

“Stiles…” She raised an eyebrow at me and damn it how does she know I’m lying?

I shook my head and made an ‘uh ah’ noise to which she narrowed her eyes.

“So there is something, you just don’t want to tell me?”

“No! I mean yeah, wait, no…” I fumbled.

I don’t think she knows about Scott and Isaac yet and I am so not the one who should be telling her.

“Stiles if something is up can you please just tell me so I can stop worrying about getting a call in the middle of the night saying that he’s… cut in half or something? He’s been acting strange for weeks now.” She pleaded and I sighed.

I don’t want her to have to worry when there is nothing going on. Well, nothing in the werewolf sense anyway.

“There’s nothing going on that’s going to get him cut in half, I promise.” She seemed to relax a little at that.

“Then what is going on? We might not talk as much as we used to but I know when there’s something bothering him.”

“Yeah I know, he’s not so great at hiding his emotions is he?”

She chuckled to herself and nodded. “Well I’m afraid he gets that from me, and you’re not going to say anything are you?”

I shook my head. “This is kind of Scott’s thing. I don’t really want to undercut him.”

She sighed. “Just so long as he does tell me if there is something serious going on.”

“Promise I will take a fist to him if he keeps all this secrecy up.” I put a hand to my heart and she scoffed.

“And you think that’ll help do you?”

“Nah, it would probably hurt me before it hurt him.” She laughed and I heard the door click as Scott finally made it home.

He walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at the two of us sitting down having a conversation.

“What’s going on?” He asked suspiciously.

“You tell me.” Melissa said, looking from Scott to me and I gave the two of them a super awkward grin.

“What?” He asked.

“Nothing, I’m just trying to stop him from breaking in to this place.” She said as she stood up and walked over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m starting work in an hour so I’m going to get ready, there’s money on the counter for dinner. I take it you’re staying Stiles?” She said without looking back at me.

“If you’re offering free food then yeah.”

She laughed and tapped Scott’s shoulder before heading upstairs.

“What the hell did you tell her?” He hissed the second he heard her door shut.

“I told her everything she needed to know.” I said.

His eyes grew wide. “You what?! What the hell Stiles!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy wolfy, I didn’t tell her anything about you and Isaac, all I said was that your life isn’t in danger. Maybe you should tell her about the two of you before you completely crack.” I said, holding out an arm to get him to back up.

He ran a hand through his hair and paced back and forth a few times.

“Jesus Scott, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” He snapped. “Sorry, I just – I’m stressed about this year and then there’s the whole telling my mom thing… I just don’t want to disappoint her you know?” He said and I nodded a little.

“Hey, my dad was actually proud that I could land someone like Derek. It was seriously the weirdest thing ever.” I said.

“Really?” He asked hopefully.

“Look, Scott, your mom is just about as cool as they come; telling her that you’re dating Isaac isn’t going to kill her.” I said.

“I know but it’s not just that. I mean how am I going to do it? There are so many other things to worry about anyway, I just don’t want everything to change because it’s not like I expected to be a freaking werewolf during my last few years of high school!”

“Scott, calm down, just take a few deep breaths and come over to Derek’s tomorrow night to drink and unwind.” I said, realising that I probably should tell him that I’m volunteering his house for a bunch of teenagers.

“Derek’s having a party?” He asked.

“Well, no, I’m inviting people to Derek’s because everyone seems to have issues right now.” What is with all these people and their problems, my life is the best it’s ever been.

“Does he know that?”

“I’m dealing with it, okay? Just figure out how you can stay calm, god, you’re like about to bite my head off.”

“Sorry.” He sighed. “I just had a fight with Isaac this morning so everything is-”

“So that’s why you were a jack ass all day? I get it, starting the day with a fight just gets you all wound up and stuff.” I shrugged, knowing exactly how that feels.

He shot me a smile. “Thanks Stiles.” He looked over to the money on the counter. “So… pizza?”

“Uh, obviously.” Come on Scott, like there were any other options.

 

 

Isaac –

 

I sat in the chair at his desk just waiting for him to get home. I know I’m just looking for a reason to avoid Scott but I kind of also want someone to talk to about this and he is the only one who will listen and give me some actually helpful advice, albeit mostly sarcastic. Derek just gets to a point where ‘I don’t care’ is the only thing that comes out of his mouth so he’s basically useless unless it comes down to werewolf stuff.

“Come on Stiles, where the hell are you?” I grumbled.

He’s probably at Derek’s, but I don’t want to drag Derek into it, I share enough with him living in that house, then again, I share plenty with Stiles by proxy.

I checked my phone and it had just gone nine. This was a stupid idea, since when is he ever home? As I was revelling in my idiocy I heard a car pull into the street and looked out the window to see Stiles’ jeep pulling into the drive way.

He shut her off and climbed out, walking casually to the door. I could hear him throw his keys on the bench before heading up the stairs. Crap, this is going to scare the shit out of him isn’t it?

As the door handle opened I looked away and waited for the scream, which came out as more of a yelp than anything else.

“Holy freaking Jesus! Isaac! What the hell? Can’t you werewolves ever use the front door?” He said, his heartbeat racing as he collapsed on his bed.

“You know I’ve heard stories about how you never use the front door.” I smiled.

“Only at Scott’s place because his mom kept locking the front door.” He grumbled.

I shook my head with a smile and breathed in deeply. “You smell like him.”

Stiles let out a grunting sound and sat up to look at me. “If you’re going to start complaining about him then go right ahead, I already know the story.”

“Did he tell you that I would be complaining about him?”

“No Isaac, he didn’t, he just told me about your fight this morning and I figured you were going to do the same.”

“So did he complain about me?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Of course he did, you guys had a fight, he had to vent it to someone and apparently I’m everybody’s someone.”

I sighed and sat down beside him. “Sorry for not knocking, or even waiting for you to get back.”

“It’s fine, I’m used to Derek doing it and never tire of having heart attacks.” I chuckled. “Go on then, get it out. You want him to tell his mom and he thinks it’s too soon.” He made a hand gesture to get me to continue.

“It’s been two months and he thinks it’s going to change everything. I mean I know his mom, you know his mom, do you really think she’ll hate it that much?” He went to say something but I think I may have cut over him. “He’s not going to say anything unless I keep bugging him about it is he? That’s what he does and it frustrates me all to hell!” His mouth opened again but I couldn’t stop. “I know what you’re going to say and you’re right, it’s his mom and it’s not my place to tell her or get angry or whatever but I am so tired of having to hide it. You know I don’t even think Allison knows, and he has no idea how that makes me feel.”

“Are you done? Can I speak now?” He said and I nodded. “I was actually going to say that I agree with you.”

“Well that’s just because – wait, what?” I said, I didn’t expect him to say that.

“I said I agree with you. I have no idea why he’s not telling his mom, Allison I can kind of understand because… well… never mind that-”

“What Stiles?” I said.

He sighed and shook his head. “Well I don’t know if he’s totally over her or not.”

I looked away, knowing that he was probably right but not wanting to think about it. Maybe that was a factor in my other problem as well. What is there to expect when I basically forced myself on him when he was still pining after her.

“Sorry if that kind of kills your buzz.” He said with a sheepish look on his face.

“It’s okay, my buzz has been kind of dead all day.”

“You know that trying to force him into telling his mom really isn’t going to help. Neither is snapping at him.”

“He told you everything huh?” I asked, feeling my cheeks get a little hotter.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t stop bringing it up and then you got mad when he said he needed more time. Then there was some yelling and he stormed out.”

“Is that all he said?” I looked at him from the corner of my eye and he shrugged.

“Yeah, why was there something else?”

I shook my head. “No, no that was it.” I lied.

“Are you going to go back and talk to him or are you a fan of the Derek method?” He asked.

“I’m sorry the what?” I asked with a raise of my eyebrow and a small smile.

“The ‘have an argument and then drop it so you don’t have to talk about it after’ method.” He grinned

“You know I never asked for an insight into your relationship with Derek, living with him was enough.” I said.

“Yeah well I’m not asking for an insight into yours and I in no way encourage you to take my advice, in fact I advise against it,” I shook my head at him as he tried to follow his reasoning, “but I’m here if you need me to just, you know, vent at.”

“Thanks Stiles.”

“Don’t mention it, but I’m warning you now, I won't take your side all the time, just when Scott’s pulling a Derek.”

“Pulling a Derek? Can you really make a saying about him out of everything?” I laughed.

“Whenever someone’s being a douche, yeah.” He smiled.

He really is the most ridiculous human I have ever met. “I’m going to let you have an actual life, kind of.”

“Ha-ha, you’re hilarious.”

“Don’t have a Derek related saying for that?”

“No, he’s not the most humorous of werewolves. Would you try not to snap at Scott so much? All this tension is making my head spin.” He rubbed his temple and I chucked to myself a little.

“Yeah, I’ll try.” I stood up and walked over to the window.

“You know you can use the door if you want.” He said.

“Where’s the fun in that.” I gave him a wink and climbed through before jumping down to the ground below.

 

 

I tried to avoid it, I really did, but someone once said to me that you shouldn’t let a day go by without resolving an argument. The feeling in my gut when I thought about leaving this conversation to later made me think that whoever they were; they were right.

I headed over to Scott’s house to see most of the lights off, there was still a dim flicker in his bedroom. The bedside lamp, I knew that light well. He sometimes leaves it on to read, especially now he’s got this thing about finishing all the books on the reading list. He pretends that they fascinate him but I know that most of them bore him to death, probably because he doesn’t understand them. Hell, I don’t know anyone who really does understand them, they’re all a bit too interpretive for me.

I silently climbed up the side of the house, knowing exactly where to step so that Melissa wouldn’t hear, and before I had the chance to knock on the window Scott was there to open it. We stared at one another in silence for a moment, both with sheepish looks on our faces.

“Hey.” I said softly.

“Hey.” He replied, stepping back to let me climb through the window.

I ducked my head as I swung my leg through and walked over to the other side of the room, shuffling my feet a little. He pushed the window down and flicked the lock, turning so that he wasn’t fully facing me, his thumbs concealed in the waistband of his shorts.

“Look, I’m – I’m sorry about this morning…” I said slowly.

He gave a little shrug and a nod. “It’s okay. I guess I’m a little sorry too.”

“No Scott it-”

“It’s alright, I know where you’re coming from and you know that I’m trying to work it all out so there’s not much else we can say about it.”

My mind started flashing red warning signs, he’s going for the Derek Method.

“I just think we need to talk about it without getting angry.” I said.

“There’s not much more to say, besides, one of us always gets angry.”

“That’s because neither of us will budge.” I said and he looked up. “How about I just say that I won't bug you if you promise to set a time limit on this whole secret keeping thing? I mean it, you give me a time and I won't ask you when you’re going to tell her anymore.” I did mean it.

I thought back to the ugly argument from this morning and really hoped we could sort something out.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you that I just can't do it yet?!” Scott had yelled.

“Well how many times do I have to sit back and pretend that I don’t feel this way just because you’re scared of something that doesn’t exist?!” I had spat back.

“Jesus Christ Isaac! Maybe you could think about how I feel about the whole fucking thing? She’s my mom, not yours.”

“Yeah and she accepted you as a fucking wolf so why won't she accept you for this?”

“It’s not about that!”

“No? So what’s it fucking about? Allison? Is that it? You don’t want her to find out that you’re fucking me? Oh wait, that’s right; you’re not.”

 

Maybe I had pushed the line a bit there. Okay, maybe a lot. That was the part where he told me to fuck off and slammed the door in my face. I regretted it as soon as it slipped out. I didn’t know it was going to and I really wish that I could take it back but it’s out there now and I feel like the bad guy in this equation.

The whole sex thing isn’t that big of a deal, it’s not. It’s just when the two things tie together that it makes me feel like he’s ashamed. And no, I haven’t told him that because I know he’ll deny it but part of me can't help thinking that it’s true.

Scott let out a loud sigh. “I’ll try to tell her before Thanksgiving.” He said.

Not really what I was after. “That’s almost two months away.” I said softly.

“Well it’s the best I have okay?” He said as he gave me his ‘I’m sorry’ face. “Can we please stop fighting? I hate it when you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad.” I said with a sigh.

“I can see it on your face, you’re mad and there’s still… I mean this isn’t the only thing we argued about this morning…” He said.

I walked over and cupped his face in my hands, resting my head against his. “I’m not mad. I love you.” I said, kissing him lightly on the lips.

His hands reached up to gently caress my wrists and hold my hands against his cheeks. “I love you too, really, I’m not just saying it.” He said.

“I know, Scott.”

I let go of his face so that I could wrap my arms around him and I felt him nuzzle into my shoulder. I could hear his heart beat settle and I knew that it was slowly beginning to match mine.

“Isaac, about the other thing…”

“We don’t need to talk about it, just forget I said anything.” I whispered, my lips grazing his temple.

Huh, that’s funny. I guess I’m the one using the Derek Method after all.


	3. Chapter Three

“So let me get this straight…” Derek said as Stiles gave him a sheepish grin on Saturday morning.

 

Derek stood with his arms folded looking down at Stiles as he sat on his couch trying not to make the situation a whole lot worse.

 

“You’ve volunteered my house for your little teenage booze-up? Were you ever planning on asking?” He said with a scolding tone in his voice that sort of made Stiles feel like a child.

 

“Of course I was, I need you to you know, buy the booze.” He grinned again and Derek rolled his eyes.

 

“So your answer is no, you were planning on telling.”

 

“Would you quit with the tone? You make me feel like I’m getting a scolding from my dad and it is so not sexy.” Stiles said.

 

“That’s not what I was going for.” He leant in with a clip to Stiles’ ear and he recoiled.

 

“Ouch! Alright! It’s not that big a deal is it?”

 

Derek grunted. “Just tell me next time so I can plan to remove myself from the town for the night.”

 

“Oh come on, don’t you want to hang out with your pack?” Stiles teased.

 

Derek narrowed his eyes and came down to kneel on the couch, one knee either side of Stiles’ hips. “Maybe I wanted to spend some time with you.” He purred, his wet lips drifting to Stiles’ neck and gently sucking on his skin and giving a few good rolls of his hips.

 

Stiles let out an audible groan as his hands found Derek’s sides. He grinned to himself as he felt Stiles growing hard in his jeans and pulled his lips away, freezing his hips in place.

 

“But I suppose that can wait.” He said and Stiles gave him a foul look.

 

“That’s just pure evil.” He said as Derek stood up and walked into the kitchen with a smile.

 

“That’s what you get.”

 

“Yeah well if I tell you about something else annoying that I’ve done will you do it again?” He called out.

 

“Nope.”

 

Stiles rolled his eyes and stood up, readjusting himself into a slightly more comfortable position. “Do you have to leave a mark all the time?” He asked as he headed into the kitchen to sit on one of the chairs.

 

Derek looked up with a stern face and just nodded. “Yes.”

 

“Well, I suppose there could be worse ways of marking your territory…” Derek gave a hearty laugh at that one.

 

“Stiles, I sincerely hope that I never get an inside look at your mind.”

 

“Honey, you couldn’t handle it.”

 

“Honey?”

 

“Oh come on, I was being dramatic. Like I would ever call you honey.” Stiles scoffed.

 

“Good, because I would have to kill you if you did.” Derek took a sip from the glass of water he had poured and leant his arms on the bench.

 

“Always with the killing and the maiming Derek, tut, tut.”

 

“I mean it, one more pet name out of you and trigger bond or not, you’re dead.” It was hard for Stiles to take Derek seriously when he could see the smile on his face.

 

“What’s the matter baby? You don’t like my pet names?” Stiles smirked as he hopped off his stool and walked over to Derek, taking one of his wrists and wrenching it behind his back far too easily.

 

That just made his smirk grow even wider.

 

“No.” Derek said unconvincingly.

 

“You saying you don’t even like it when I call you baby?” Derek closed his eyes at the feel of his hot breath in his ear.

 

“No.” He said again, his tongue snaking out to comfort his dry bottom lip.

 

He felt Stiles’ fingers run through his hair and form a tight grip, pulling his head back slowly but sharply. While Stiles could never leave a lasting mark on him he very much enjoyed it when he tried. His teeth grazed Derek’s shoulder lightly at first and then clamped down hard, making him breathe in sharply at the feel of it. As Stiles made a large but fading purple bruise on his neck, Derek bit down on his own lip, his eyes still firmly closed.

 

“Well I think you’re a dirty rotten liar.” Stiles said in a ragged breath before letting Derek go and stepping back to lean against the table. “And I have no idea how you do that because I am no good at teasing you.” He said, having turned himself on as much as he had intended to do to Derek.

 

Derek laughed. “You just have no self-control, that’s your problem.” He turned around and grabbed Stiles by the waist. “I happen to know a thing or two more about that.”

 

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? So do you always carry a torch in your front pocket?”

 

Derek scowled, the corners of his lips turned slightly upwards. “You can't distract me from what’s actually going on here; you invited a bunch of teenagers over to my house to get drunk, off my booze.”

 

Stiles groaned and rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Can’t we just forget it and move on? It’s not like I can cancel it now.” He gave Derek another grin and he just let go and walked back to the fridge to find something to eat.

 

“You could.” He said.

 

“Uh, no I couldn’t. Do you have any idea how much hate I would cop for that?”

 

“Not my problem.”

 

“I’ll make it your problem.” Derek just rolled his eyes with a groan as he turned back to Stiles.

 

He knew he was right. If there was one thing Stiles could do well it was get under Derek’s skin… among other talents.

 

“Next time, would you give me the chance to say no? Or better yet, just don’t offer to have things at my place.”

 

“If I do that then nothing will ever happen.”

 

“I think you’ll find that to be my point.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, now that we’ve got that over with can we go upstairs? I have self-control, I just choose not to use it.” Stiles grinned and Derek shook his head.

 

“You really don’t.” He said as he walked over to kiss him roughly on the mouth.

 

“So that’s a yes to the party and the drinking?” Stiles asked before slipping his tongue behind Derek’s teeth.

 

Derek let out a growl which Stiles took to mean yes before he was being dragged up the stairs more than willingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scott woke up that morning to find the bed next to him empty and cold. He blinked a few times and looked around the room but Isaac wasn’t there. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed his shirt off the floor, pulling it over his head.

 

His ears tuned in to the sound of voices downstairs and knew that one of them was Isaac, the other was his mom. Part of him knew that going down there was just going to make the whole tension thing between them worse but he couldn’t avoid it.

 

As he yawned his way down the stairs and wandered into his kitchen his mom greeted him with a kiss to the cheek.

 

“Hey honey, you slept in a little this morning.”

 

“Yeah, I guess I did.” He said, eyes still adjusting to the light.

 

“Well, I wish I could stay because this kitchen smells amazing but I took on an extra shift so I better leave before I’m late.” She said.

 

“Why did you do that? Do we need-”

 

“Scott just relax, okay? A couple of people are off this weekend for a wedding and I volunteered to take the shifts, I’m not going to turn down good money. I get next weekend off anyway.” She shrugged. “I guess I won't see you tonight, Isaac said you were going to Derek’s place?”

 

“Uh, I guess yeah.”

 

“You’re not lying to me are you Isaac?” She turned to give him a grin.

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He said with a smile.

 

“Okay, I never know when you kids are serious anymore.” She shook her head. “See you later at some point. Bye boys.” She gave Scott another kiss and grabbed her bag and keys before heading towards the door.

 

Isaac’s eyes were trained on the pan in front of him and he was unnaturally quiet. Scott almost wished that his mom had stayed so that they didn’t have to deal with the silence.

 

“So…” Scott started. “This does smell good, what are you making?”

 

“Uh, just bacon and eggs, there was toast but your mom ate all of that.” He smiled for a moment but soon it was gone from his lips.

 

“That’s cool. So we’re going to Derek’s place are we?” Scott asked.

 

“Yeah, Stiles texted me. I mean you don’t have to go if you don’t want to but I think I will.”

 

“No, that’s okay, I want to.”

 

The two of them shared an awkward silence, both knowing that there was something hanging around that they hadn’t properly addressed. Isaac didn’t want to bring it up anymore, he knew that it would only end up in an argument and he hoped more than anything that Scott would want to talk about it. So far that wasn’t looking likely.

 

“Isaac?” He asked, breaking the silence.

 

“Yeah?” He turned to look at Scott who was leaning against the table with his head tilted to the side.

 

“Are we… I mean, are we okay?” He looked a little vulnerable, his eyes showing off the worry behind them.

 

Isaac sighed, all parts of him melting with just one look. “Yeah Scott, we’re okay.”

 

Part of him regretted saying nothing more but the rest of him was so desperate to keep Scott that he almost didn’t care that things were not simply ‘okay’.

 

“I hate when we fight.” Scott said.

 

“I just try and think of a good memory and usually it breaks my bad mood.” Isaac gave him a little smile and Scott returned it with a flick of his eyebrow.

 

“Just usually?”

 

Isaac smirked. “Yeah well sometimes your just being a dick so trying to think of something good just makes me think of all the other times you’ve been a dick.”

 

“Oh and it’s so often is it?”

 

“It’s okay, I know you can't help it.” Scott laughed and walked over, kissing Isaac quickly on the cheek before stealing some bacon from the pan.

 

“Hey! Who said this was for you?” He smacked him with the spatula and felt his heart soar a little more even though nothing had really been resolved.

 

 

 

 

 

Derek headed out that afternoon and begrudgingly bought enough alcohol to keep the teenagers amused for a while. It truly disgusted him at how easily Stiles could manipulate him into doing something that he didn’t want to do. Still, he did it anyway because for some reason he loved the clumsy loud-mouthed human, and he wouldn’t change that.

 

When he got back to the loft Stiles was lounging out on the couch and watching the TV. He dumped the box he had bought on the kitchen bench and walked over to lean on the back of the couch, giving him a scowl.

 

Stiles smiled up at him with those big brown eyes and Derek leant down to peck his lips, his nose brushing against his chin. As he pulled back he couldn’t help but notice Stiles’ full parted lips and closed eyes and managed a quick smile while he wasn’t looking.

 

“What was that for?” Stiles asked, his long eyelashes slowly separating.

 

“Am I not allowed to kiss you now?”

 

“Oh you can kiss me whenever you like, you just don’t normally kiss you like that, you know, all Spiderman style. It’s cute.” Stiles smiled and Derek shook his head.

 

“Don’t call me that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Why do you think?” He raised an eyebrow.

 

“Alright, alright, god you’re such a sour wolf sometimes.”

 

Derek groaned and hung his head. “Why? Just why?” He muttered and Stiles let out a chuckle.

 

“Shut up, you love me.”

 

“Yes, and I just can't understand it. Can you try not to involve me in any of your crap tonight? I’m not really in the mood.” Derek said, walking over to take a seat near Stiles’ feet.

 

He lifted them up so that He could put them on Derek’s lap as he shuffled so that he could look at him.

 

“You know, in my experience there’s only one thing you’re ever in the mood for.” He teased.

 

Derek smirked over at him silently before he spoke. “I just don’t like dealing with people, human or otherwise.”

 

“Me being the exception right?”

 

Derek pulled a face. “Not really, you just keep the previously mentioned mood at bay.” Stiles narrowed his eyes.

 

“One of these days I am going to get severely pissed off at you for that kind of talk.” Derek just laughed.

 

“Maybe, but it’s easy to break that, you can't stay in one mood for too long, no matter what it is.” Stiles was about to argue but he didn’t really have anything to say that would prove him wrong.

 

“So you’re not going to come down and hang out at all?” He asked instead.

 

“Changing the subject, clever move.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Derek laughed. “No, I’m not. Maybe on the odd occasion but otherwise I think I’ll keep to myself.” Stiles rolled his eyes and Derek felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to check.

 

His brow furrowed and he pushed Stiles’ legs off of him before heading to the kitchen bench.

 

“Is there something wrong?” Stiles asked, sitting up to look over at him.

 

“No, just something I have to sort out.” He said.

 

“Something like what?” Stiles pressed.

 

“Why do you keep asking questions?”

 

“Why do you keep dodging the answers?”

 

“It’s just Peter causing trouble alright? If I deal with him now then I don’t have to do it later.” He shrugged.

 

For some reason Stiles didn’t believe him but he didn’t question him any further, knowing that whatever it was; he probably didn’t want to know.

 

“I’ll be back later, try not to break anything.” He said as he walked over to kiss his forehead before heading out through the lift doors.

 

“Oh come on, I’m not that clumsy!” He called. “I guess I should get those clothes out of the bathroom.” He sighed to himself as he set to tidying up the place a bit, and to Stiles that meant putting the visible mess in an invisible spot.

 

Derek was not going to like that but maybe it’ll teach him for having secret werewolf business.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not like he meant to crack into the booze early, but Stiles got bored of cleaning, bad TV and being all alone and for some reason that meant breaking a seal or two about an hour before Isaac showed up with Scott.

 

“Hey! You made it!” He grinned a little and the two exchanged a look with smiles that they were trying to hide.

 

“Hey, you’re… already tipsy.” Isaac said.

 

Stiles shrugged. “I got bored. Derek’s out saving the world from Peter’s craziness so it’s just me.”

 

“We can see that. You want to offer us something to drink?” Scott asked.

 

“Nah, just get your own. This time Derek doesn’t have dibs on anything in particular so it’s basically a free-for-all.” He grinned.

 

It was soon after that Erica showed up with Boyd, Erica walking straight past Stiles and to the box of alcohol still on the bench. He gave her a few loud huffs before she laughed and ran back to kiss him on the cheek. The two of them had stayed remarkably close after the events of the past summer, much to Derek’s annoyance. Something about it just rubbed him up the wrong way and he became super possessive of Stiles when she was around.

 

Of course Erica found it ridiculously amusing and Stiles wasn’t going to complain about the extra friendliness or PDA because quite frankly he loved it.

 

With Scott and Isaac’s relationship unable to be hidden from either of them they seemed a hell of a lot more relaxed in their company than around the others. From what Stiles could see, there was something going on and thanks to his psychologist aura he knew exactly what it was, but this time Scott was actually letting Isaac hold his hand in front of the others.

 

Well, he was, until Jackson showed up with Lydia and Allison in tow, then he dropped his hand just about as fast as he could and it didn’t go unnoticed, by anyone. Stiles and Erica exchanged a glance and Boyd pretended to be inherently interested in the ads on the television. Isaac’s head just dropped and he let out a low sigh as he watched Scott head over to refill his glass.

 

Jackson rolled his eyes, obviously not oblivious to any of it and very clearly uncaring about it while Lydia and Allison had no idea. They hadn’t voiced any knowledge of the matter anyway.

 

“If Danny shows up can you try not to be your douche-y self? He said you were being an extra-large one this week.” Stiles said.

 

Jackson scoffed, nabbing the bottle out of Scott’s hand. “No he didn’t.”

 

“Well… he said you were extra snappy. I don’t know why you think you can't tell him about everything, I’m sure he can deal with it.” Stiles said.

 

“It’s not that I can't it’s that I choose not to. See the difference with your little half-wit brain?” He said sharply and Stiles raised his eyebrows.

 

“Damn, Danny was right, you are snappier than usual.”

 

“You know, I don’t know why you won't tell him.” Boyd said, leaning back on the counter.

 

“Why don’t you ask Derek what he thinks of the number of people who know about this town’s little werewolf problem and then ask me that question?”

 

“I say we leave him to the bottle and ignore him for the rest of the night.” Erica chimed in.

 

“I don’t often agree with you but this time I would have to say that you’ve got it right.” Lydia said with a smirk.

 

Stiles was no expert, but there was definitely some tension in this room tonight. This time it was Allison’s turn to look away awkwardly.

 

“Lydia, Allison, would you like something human friendly?” Stiles offered.

 

“As long as it’s strong I’ll take whatever you’ve got.” Lydia said, her voice rising an octave and Stiles even thought he saw Jackson roll his eyes.

 

Well, so far this night is going swimmingly, Stiles thought.


	4. Chapter Four

Stiles – 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, so from what I can gather this night is like, opposite night. No seriously.

 

I’m sitting up on the kitchen bench with Erica and – get this – Scott and Jackson are hanging out over by the couch and Isaac is chilling on the stairs with Lydia and Allison. Boyd and Danny are in some serious debate about… something, it doesn’t sound like anything I would be interested in. Oh right, Danny got here like an hour ago and Derek is still gone.

 

I know he said he didn’t want to hang around a bunch of teenagers – funny seeing as he kind of chose them to be his pack – but damn it where was he? It’s starting to make me anxious, especially because he was so freaking secretive.

 

“So…” I said to Erica. “What do you think they’re talking about?” I pointed my glass in the direction of Scott and Jackson.

 

She gave me a little laugh. “Please, I don’t think, I know.”

 

“Oh right, werewolf ears.”

 

She rolled her eyes and leant back on her elbows. “They’re talking about lacrosse.”

 

“Seriously? Lacrosse? Could they be any more boring?” I scoffed.

 

I looked over at her but I could see that she was listening to something else. Her eyes lit up and she started to laugh again. “On the other hand, some people are talking about more interesting things.” She nodded to the little group on the stairs. “When I say interesting I mean it could get interesting depending on how the conversation goes.” She said softly, clearly trying to hide her voice from even nosier ears.

 

I picked up the remote next to me and turned up the music a few notches. “Give me the goods.”

 

“Are you going to tell me what’s up with Derek?”

 

“I don’t even know what’s up with Derek, I was hoping one of you did.”

 

She shook her head. “No, he isn’t saying much, we haven’t had a pack meet in a while.”

 

“Damn, all I know is that he said his little disappearance had something to do with Peter but I’m not sure if I believed him.”

 

She sighed. “Fine,” she turned her head to the side, ears straining to hear. “Isaac’s asking Allison if she’s ever going to sort things out with Scott.”

 

I almost choked on my drink, in fact I did choke a little, spluttering about and earning an eye roll and a head shake from Erica.

 

“Subtlety isn’t your thing is it Stiles?”

 

“He’s what?” I hissed.

 

“Keep your voice down.” She leant in close to whisper to him.

 

“What are they saying what are they saying?” I hissed more quietly.

 

“He’s asking her if she still wants to get back together with Scott or whether things can't be fixed because he’ll wait for her forever if that’s what it takes… oh god, I might vomit. I thought the two of them were… you know.” She looked to me and I rolled my eyes.

 

“Yeah well they are but I’m pretty sure there’s still one big crack down the middle of that road.” I said.

 

“Allison.” Erica whispered.

 

“Allison.” I repeated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac – 

 

 

 

 

 

Scott is going to kill me if he heard me talking about this. I mean he would absolutely and undoubtedly kill me.

 

Allison looked away from me with a sigh and Lydia tilted her head to the side, clearly curious to know the answer to my question.

 

“It’s not that I don’t still care about him…” She started and I knew that my heart was pounding ridiculously fast. “Of course I do.”

 

“Well you know he’s right.” Lydia shrugged. “If you give him any hope at all he’s going to wait for you to say jump and he’s going to say-”

 

“How high?” I finished and she looked at me with pursed lips.

 

“I was going to say ‘that he always knew you were more than just a one off’ or something to that effect but if you want to go with a cliché then that works too.”

 

Allison shook her head. “I love Scott,” I swallowed hard at that and felt the hard pinch in my chest. “I really… but I just don’t know… god, I just don’t know.” She said.

 

“Well you can take all the time you want, he’s not going to find anyone else, at least not seriously.” Lydia said, making me wish that I had just stayed out of it. “But this has been going on for months now, you need to do something.”

 

“A lot has happened…”

 

“Allison, you can't put it off forever. You don’t have to decide what you want to do today but maybe you should talk to him.” Lydia said again.

 

Allison made a croaking sound in her throat and looked around the corner at Scott and Jackson. “What am I supposed to say?”

 

“Do you want him back?” Isaac asked.

 

“I don’t know what I want.” She sighed.

 

“Well clearly you don’t want him now so maybe that would be a good place to start.” Lydia sounded slightly annoyed but at least she was trying. “I mean we all love Scott,” She looked very strangely at me for a moment and I’m sure my ears and face and possibly all other parts of my body flushed bright pink as she did. “No one wants to see him get hurt.”

 

“I guess you want me to do that now, right?” She said.

 

“Yeah.” Shit, that kind of just slipped out.

 

Both of them looked at me slightly confused, well, Lydia was almost amused and I tried to backtrack.

 

“I mean, I just want Scott to be happy, he’s probably my closest friend.”

 

“I’m sorry Isaac.” Allison sighed. “You think Jackson will give him up?”

 

Lydia scoffed. “Even if he doesn’t just take Scott and run.”

 

“Right.” Allison stood up and sidestepped the other two as she slowly walked down the stairs and towards the other side of the loft.

 

Lydia turned to me and pouted her lips, a sly smile creeping onto her face. I tried not to engage with her but I must have looked so nervous as my eyes darted away from hers.

 

“There’s something going on between you and Scott isn’t there?” She said the second Allison was out of earshot.

 

“What? No.” I said, still not meeting her eyes.

 

She made a tutting sound and gave me a shove. “Since when?”

 

“I said no didn’t I?”

 

“You were clearly lying, I’m not an idiot you know.” She said and I narrowed my eyes.

 

“I know but clearly Jackson has a big mouth.”

 

“Yes well there is that.” She said. “He didn’t say it in so many words but he gave me my suspicions and then all you had to do was bring him up for me to know that it was true.”

 

“So all the taunting and the ‘he won't find anyone else’ stuff was for my benefit?”

 

“A little, and I don’t want to be the bad guy here but what I said is true and you know it. Don’t try and tell me it’s not because you know Scott far, far better than I do and even I know that when it comes to Allison he’s hopeless.” I sighed, Lydia has a habit of being right

 

“You don’t need to keep reminding me, okay?” I said.

 

This time she sighed, tilting her head to the side sympathetically. “You like him a lot more than Jackson let on don’t you?”

 

“We’re not really telling anyone because Scott-”

 

“Is in love with Allison?”

 

“I was going to say doesn’t want anyone to know yet but everyone seems to have the same idea as you so we might as well go with that.” I grumbled.

 

“This is why you never get involved with someone who has baggage.” She said and I gave her a look.

 

“Are you really going to sit there trying to convince me that Jackson has no baggage?”

 

She shook her head, “I never said that I take my own advice. Plus I seem to have a knack for this whole supernatural thing.”

 

“You mean-”

 

“Yes, I mean making a mess of it and finding the bodies. I guess you could call me a messenger of death.” She snapped and I figured that was enough down that line of discussion.

 

Before I had the chance to say anything else Erica and Stiles were standing at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“You’re going to be a messenger of death in a minute,” Erica said to me with a grin. “Allison just led Scott outside, hand in hand; it was so sweet wasn’t it?” She asked Stiles.

 

“Dude, I like you and all but I’m not going to taunt him like that. Seriously though Isaac, what are you thinking?” Stiles said.

 

“Can we all please stop talking about it like it’s the most interesting thing in the world?” I grunted.

 

“Hey, you made your big fat gay threesome everybody’s business so the answer to that is no.” Erica said, clearly enjoying this.

 

“No, I didn’t, you all just happen to be able to hear and smell everything and can't keep your mouths shut.” I hissed.

 

“You’re lucky Danny doesn’t have super hearing or everyone would be in on this ‘secret’. I don’t even know why we’re calling it that anymore. Can we just move on?” Jackson said as he walked over, Scott having been snatched away by Allison.

 

My stomach was feeling a little queasy, this is really starting to seem like a bad idea.

 

“Yeah, let’s move on until you decide to tell us that Lydia’s just a cover for your relationship with Danny.” Erica smirked and Jackson narrowed his eyes.

 

“You’re hilarious.” He said derisively.

 

“I don’t mind if you have a relationship with Danny, just so long as I can watch.” All eyes turned to Lydia and she shrugged, Stiles grinning from ear to ear.

 

“I knew you were kinky.” He said and Erica rolled her eyes.

 

“I’m not going to go with the trend of this group.” He said, kind of defensive about it.

 

“Maybe we all should, I’m sure Lydia knows exactly what she’s doing.” Erica smirked and gave Lydia a wink.

 

Lydia folded her arms and popped out her hip with attitude. “Easy there tigress, you’re going to have to buy me dinner first.”

 

“Okay if we’re serious here can I watch?” Stiles said and Jackson punched him in the arm.

 

“Are you guys alright over there?” Danny called out as him and Boyd headed to the kitchen to pour themselves more to drink.

 

Boyd gave them a smile before shooting Jackson a wink, clearly having heard the entirety of the conversation and I let out a snort as I tried to hide my laughter. The others all seemed to follow my lead because in seconds we were all cackling wildly. Jackson was obviously not and followed Danny, taking the bottle off him and knocking it back quickly.

 

“Whoa, whoa, take your time there.” He said, snatching it back. “So is there anything here to do or are you all secretly plotting something over by the stairs?”

 

“I don’t think that Derek is the ‘things to do’ kind of guy.” I said and Stiles snorted.

 

“He’s a let’s do nothing but read kind of guy.” He said.

 

“I got a deck of cards here.” Boyd said, pulling them from a drawer in the kitchen. “Anyone know how to play anything?”

 

“I know a little poker.” Jackson shrugged.

 

“And you’re terrible at it.” Lydia said.

 

“You can't even play.”

 

“No but I’m here for support.” She said.

 

“Anyone got change?” Danny asked.

 

“Seriously? You guys are pussies.” Erica said.

 

“I take offence to that.” Danny said with a sly grin.

 

“You’ve still got a decent amount of booze, make it a drinking game.” She said.

 

“Funny, I thought you were going to say strip poker.” I said with a smile.

 

She shrugged in my direction. “Either way, drink til the alcohol’s gone and you won't need to play poker to strip.”

 

“Or you can make it a choice.” Boyd said, shaking his head because they were all taking this far too seriously.

 

“It’s settled, winner picks a victim and they choose between a shot or an item of clothing. Boyd, shuffle the deck.” Danny said, pouring the bottle over the empty glasses on the bench.

 

“Derek’s going to fucking kill me.” Stiles groaned but didn’t say no.

 

“Invite him to play.”

 

“Calm down Danny he’ll drink himself stupid before he strips down.” Stiles said in response.

 

“Hey, like the lady said before, either way works.” Danny shrugged with a smile.

 

“Did you just call Erica a lady?” Jackson turned up his nose.

 

“Yeah, something’s not right there.” Boyd grinned.

 

“You can all go screw yourselves because I plan on beating you all.” She said.

 

“Two things, is that after you’re stripped to nothing and will you use your left or right hand for it?” Stiles said, I don’t think anyone has laughed so hard all night.

 

I was enjoying all the time with our friends but I couldn’t keep one eye off the door, waiting for Scott and Allison to come back. I know that Stiles noticed because he elbowed me and gave me a look, one that said ‘just relax and try not to think about it’. That’s easier said than carried out.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Derek headed back to the loft a few hours later, by then it was quite dark and the moon was high in the sky. He was just thankful that it wasn’t full.

 

He wondered – hoped was probably a better word for it – that they were winding down up in his loft. He felt so old even thinking it but he had done his fair share, more than his fair share, of partying when he was younger and the thought of doing it again made him tired.

 

It also made him feel far older than his years because according to everyone ever, he should still be out drinking and partying and having the time of his life. Then again, Derek hasn’t really had the conventional Californian life.

 

He pulled up outside the warehouse looking building and locked his Camaro as he walked up to the doors. Heading inside and up to the lifts he could already hear them, laughing and carrying on and he knew that he was never going to sleep through it.

 

It just seemed to get louder and louder as he got closer and when the lift doors opened they all looked up and he rolled his eyes. Really? Really? He thought.

 

Some of them were half dressed, others had on various bits of clothing from the ones who were lacking it. He could smell the whiskey and vodka and knew that some of it would be spilt on his floors. He tried not to think about how old he sounded to himself as he passed judgement on the sloppy teenagers.

 

“Hey Derek, you want to join?” Stiles said, a slight slur in his speech.

 

He was sitting in his boxers and his T-shirt, Erica’s cardigan wrapped around his head.

 

He is going to be fun to deal with later. It’ll either be horny, passed out or sick as a dog when they make it to bed. Please be the second one. Derek thought.

 

“You’re not seriously playing strip poker are you?” He asked.

 

“You had nothing better lying around.” Danny said, getting a little more confidence the more he drank and Derek raised an eyebrow.

 

Danny looked a little sheepish but it was marred by the drunken grin on his face, shared by the rest of them

 

All but Isaac had the same look. He seemed to almost be having a worse time than Derek would have been. He saw his eyes drop when he walked in and it was then that he noticed that there was no Scott and no Allison. Derek wasn’t going to ask about it but he sighed, he felt almost obliged to stay and make sure he wasn’t having too terrible a time.

 

He turned back to Danny. “No? Well I guess it’ll have to do then.” He walked over and sat beside him, Danny swallowing hard and trying not to look away from Derek’s eyes. “Catch me up and deal me in.” He said as he pulled his shirt slowly over his head, less than a foot from where Danny was sitting.

 

That time his eyes may have slipped south, they certainly stayed there for longer than they would if he had been sober.

 

“Okay, I think we make a rule to keep Danny in his boxers for the rest of the night because nobody’s going to want them now.” Erica grinned and Lydia’s nose scrunched up in a laugh that Stiles found more than adorable, tapping her nose with his finger and making her cackle even more as Jackson punched him in the arm again.

 

Derek was never going to admit it but he did actually start to enjoy himself. Maybe it was the laughter and warm feeling that seemed to be running through the air or maybe it was the not-so-subtle winks and kisses that Stiles was shooting him from across the small coffee table. Whatever it was he didn’t mind it for once.

 

He couldn’t help but notice how Isaac was constantly looking over to the door and how he was the only one who didn’t laugh quite so hard at everyone’s jokes. He had that wounded look and it got to a point where Derek was actually losing the game so he got up and headed to the kitchen.

 

“Isaac, you want to give me a hand?” He said.

 

“With what?”

 

“I’m pretty sure there’s an all hours pizza place around the corner, come in here and get the number.” He said and Isaac gave him a shrug before standing up and following him.

 

“Pepperoni!” Stiles called.

 

“Shut up Stiles.” Derek said back.

 

“So you got the number or what?” Isaac asked once they were both in the kitchen.

 

“What’s the matter?” Derek asked as he filled up a glass with water from the sink.

 

“What? Why are you-”

 

“What. Is. Wrong?” Derek said.

 

Isaac sighed. “Look it’s nothing okay? Scott and Allison are just sorting things out, maybe, and before you ask; no, I don’t know what that means but it was my idea and I’m really starting to regret it. So can we shut up about it please? I don’t need you pretending to give a shit about what’s going on with me alright?” he snapped.

 

Derek gave him a nod, knowing that he would beat himself up enough about what he said later. “Okay, call the pizza place then.” He said, throwing the card over to him and heading back into the lounge.

 

He was still without a shirt but otherwise he had opted to take a shot for every game he lost. He was only slightly buzzed but he knew that if Isaac didn’t want to talk then he wasn’t going to.

 

So the pizzas came and went and Scott was still gone. Jackson got sick of losing and gathered his clothes off the others while stumbling around because he had done one too many shots. Danny made a place for himself on the couch and his eyes began to droop as he watched Lydia calm Jackson down and lay him across her lap on the couch opposite.

 

Erica and Boyd sat in the corner, her legs draped over him as they talked quietly. Derek dragged Stiles up the stairs, gathering his shirt as he did, knowing that this was going to happen. Isaac just headed up the stairs alone, the alcohol not helping his mood.

 

His pants were still downstairs and he stripped his shirt over his head as he slumped down onto the bed. He swung his legs over and burrowed under the sheet. As he slipped his hand under his head he tried to ignore the laughter seeping through the bedroom across the way, closing his eyes tightly.

 

As he focussed on something else he wished he had picked something that made him feel better rather than worse.

 

 

 

Isaac and Scott laughed as the late afternoon sun crept in through the window of Isaac’s bedroom. Stiles and Derek were out and they had the place to themselves. The grin on Isaac’s face couldn’t be removed as his nose stroked Scott’s cheek and his lips kissed him down his lopsided jaw.

 

 

 

Scott’s hands wrapped around his waist as he smiled, savouring the touch. “Why do you always do that?” He asked softly.

 

 

 

“Why not?” He replied, scooting down to his side and reaching up to brush Scott’s face with his thumb.

 

 

 

“I don’t know, you just seem to like it so much.” Scott held his body close with his hands.

 

 

 

“Is it my fault that I love you?” He grinned for a second before realising what had just slipped out of his mouth. “Shit… uh… sorry.” He said, pulling his hand back and turning his face away.

 

 

 

“Did you mean that?” Scott asked, grabbing his wrist and holding it against his cheek.

 

 

 

Isaac looked up, his eyes shining and Scott not leaving any room for him to move. “I honestly didn’t mean for it to come out.”

 

 

 

“But… do you really feel that way?”

 

 

 

Isaac swallowed and gave him a nod. Scott’s lips twitched into a small smile as he leant in to press them against Isaac’s.

 

 

 

He pulled them back just slightly and opened his eyes to see that Isaac’s were still closed. “I think I love you too.” His eyes shot open and he searched Scott’s face, his heartbeat unfaltering.

 

 

 

He grinned and pulled him in for another kiss, hearing Scott laugh and knowing that he loved him just made everything seem perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

As he relived the memory he heard feet climbing the stairs and Scott’s scent filled his nostrils. His footsteps got closer until the door gave a little squeak and he was inside, closing it again.

 

Isaac’s back was to him and he didn’t move, he didn’t roll over, he just lay there hoping that Scott wouldn’t notice.

 

Scott sat down on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes, next came his jeans. As he climbed into the bed he looked over to him.

 

“Isaac?” He bit down on his lip to try not to say anything. “Isaac are you awake?” He said softly.

 

Isaac let out a sigh and shuffled a little. “Yeah, yeah I’m awake.” He whispered.

 

“Um, do you want to talk?” He said.

 

Isaac swallowed hard. “In the morning maybe?” He choked.

 

This time it was Scott’s turn to sigh. “Okay.” He said.

 

As he shuffled down to get comfortable Isaac held on to the hope that he would grab him by the waist and pull them together, linking their hands and whispering an ‘I love you’ in his ear, but he didn’t. He found a spot in the sheets and exhaled heavily, their bodies not touching and Isaac knew he wouldn’t sleep as he anxiously awaited Scott’s words in the morning.


	5. Chapter Five

Stiles woke up with a groan on Sunday morning, wondering what the hell he did to deserve a hangover like this one. He made more groaning sounds as he snuggled backwards and into Derek’s body, his arm already draped over his side.

“Rough night?” Derek said, smiling with his eyes still closed.

“Shut up.” Stiles groaned and Derek began to run his hands over him and nuzzle into the back of his neck. “What are you _doing_?”

“Since when am I the smart-ass and you’re the one telling me to shut up?” He smirked.

Stiles sat up sharply and began to pat himself down frantically.

“Stiles what the hell is wrong with you?” Derek said, looking up at him.

“It’s okay, I’m still in my own body.” He said with a huff and Derek dragged him back down with a laugh.

“You’re a strange little person, did you know that?”

“I take great pleasure in that.” Stiles said, lying back and enjoying the feel of Derek’s lips and tongue ravishing his neck. “Surely that can't taste very good.” He smiled.

“You always taste good.” Derek said, rolling over so that he was lying with his body pressed against Stiles’ side, his morning wood straining against the inside of his boxer shorts.

“ _Derek_ … I’m all gross and stuff.” Stiles said, his fingers reaching under Derek’s shirt and stroking his side.

“Like you care.” He said.

Derek brought his lips to Stiles’ mouth and parted it with his tongue, licking his top lip and making Stiles pull him in closer. He moved his body further over and rolled his hips down a little, making him groan and slip his fingers under the waistline of Derek’s boxers, his hands cupping his ass and giving it a little squeeze.

Derek pulled his lips away and stared down at him. “ _Stiles_ , why do you always do that?”

He grinned up at him. “Have you seen _your_ ass?”

Derek rolled his eyes and shifted his weight to turn Stiles over, extending the claw on his index finger and gently running it down his back. Stiles shivered, closing his eyes and sucking his lip into his mouth. “Have you seen yours?” Derek wriggled down, pulling off Stiles’ underwear and gently taking his soft flesh between his teeth and sucking on it, leaving a small purple mark.

Stiles yelped a little. “Hey! Did I say you could mark your territory there?”

Derek leered up at him before snaking out his tongue and laying it flat against his skin. Stiles’ body tingled and his fingers gripped the sheets as Derek worked his way towards more sensitive parts of his anatomy. He let out a choked moan as the tantalising tip of Derek’s tongue gave one slow flick over his entrance.

“Did you want me to stop?” He asked cockily and Stiles grunted.

“You do and I’ll beat your little werewolf-ass into next year.”

Derek laughed and dipped his head back down, circling his tongue and making Stiles’ moans quicken and his legs spread faster. “You’re too easy.” He growled.

“Don’t care… _fuck_!” He groaned into the pillow as Derek’s assault grew more emphatic.

He ground his hips down against the sheets, the friction more than amazing on his already leaking cock. Derek let out a growl at that.

“Hey!” He said, pulling his hips up so that Stiles was on his knees. “No short-cuts.”

“Come on, please?” He begged.

“Not yet.” Derek teased, his tongue becoming even more torturous.

Stiles’ brow was beading with sweat and his cock was aching for Derek’s touch, or his touch, or just about anything. He groaned with every breath and Derek could see just how desperate he was for more.

“ _Please_ Derek…” He said urgently.

Satisfied by Stiles’ begging he let him go to reach for the bottle in the top bedside drawer. He poured some onto his fingers and urged one gently inside him. Stiles let out a loud gasp and pushed himself back, only to have Derek hold him firmly in place.

“Why do you always seem to be in a hurry?” He asked, adding a second finger and scissoring slightly.

“I… _uhn_ … am I not allowed to want you?” He said through his panting breaths.

“There’s a time and place for that.” Derek whispered in his ear and he shivered again.

“God damn it Derek!” Stiles snarled, the teasing become too much to bear.

He laughed. “I just enjoy teasing you, but if you insist.”

As he poured some more from the bottle into his hand he pulled down his boxers and slicked himself up.

“Roll over.” He said and Stiles turned onto his back, letting Derek position himself between his legs. He shook his head and made a tutting sound. “So impatient.”

Stiles let out a frustrated sound and glared up at him. “If you don’t fuck me right now I am seriously going to-”

Derek cut him off as he slid inside him, rocking his hips and doing all he could to keep a straight face. “Better?”

“Oh _god_ yeah…” Stiles groaned and Derek let go of his cocky disguise to thrust harder and rest his head against Stiles’ forehead

He pumped his hips with short sharp moves that hit Stiles right where he ached for it as his fingernails dug into Derek’s back. With one hand he grabbed Derek by his hair and pulled him down for a kiss. Their tongues twisted around one another and Stiles felt the stubble scratching his cheek. Derek pulled away, his breathing turning ragged and his eyes glowing red.

Stiles tilted his chin up and stared hungrily into his eyes as he slowed down the rhythm of his hips and just pushed himself deeper into Stiles. He let his thumb brush over Stiles’ bottom lip as he gazed down at him, kissing his softly before burying his face in his neck. As he gave the last few strokes he could manage he took hold of Stiles’ cock in his hand and it took only a few caresses before his heat was exploding over Derek’s stomach and he was letting himself go, struggling to hold himself up.

Their shaking bodies stayed connected until the waves of pleasure had ceased and Derek rolled to the side, panting harshly and letting out a contented sigh.

“You see? Isn’t it better when you just listen to me?” Stiles grinned over at him.

“Most of the time I try to avoid listening to you Stiles.”

“Yeah but when it comes to this-”

“Shh…” Derek said.

“What?”

“You’re ruining it with your mouth.”

Stiles scowled. “I’ll ruin _you_ with my mouth.” He muttered under his breath and Derek smirked.

“I think it’s safe to say that you already have.” The glare disappeared from Stiles’ face and he leant over to seal their lips together with a kiss.

 

 

Scott woke up the next morning with the crushing feeling from the night before. He had hoped that a night of sleep would have relieved him of it but if anything it was worse. He turned his head to the bed beside him and sighed.

Isaac wasn’t there.

He had a habit of doing that lately, waking up first and rather than waking Scott up with him like he used to, he would just head downstairs and sit alone, thinking.

He should have tried to hold him last night, he knew that. Somehow he couldn’t force himself to do it. The cold tension in the room was worse than it had ever been and he wished it could have been any other way. He would rather fight than say nothing.

He reached out to feel the sheets where Isaac had slept and sighed again when he realised that they were cold. He’d been gone for a while. Scott didn’t know when he had fallen asleep but he hoped that Isaac hadn’t been gone all night.

This whole thing was just getting worse and worse and he knew that it was his fault. He knew they had to sort it all out but how was he going to say it? Any of it? It was all so much harder than is should have been.

He almost wished that the Kanima or the Maeve were back because he could deal with that, mostly, how he felt was something completely different. He could hear Derek and Stiles laughing in the bedroom next door and closed his eyes, wishing they would stop torturing him with their happy little romance.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes, gathering his loose bits of clothing and throwing them on, not caring if anything was inside out or wrong way round. He headed downstairs and into the kitchen, his eyes searching for Isaac but he couldn’t see him anywhere, confirmation from his nose said the same.

Erica was sitting behind a bowl of cereal and stared up at him as he poured himself some water.

“Why are you staring at me?” He asked.

She shook her head and swallowed her mouthful. “Nothing.”

He rolled his eyes and looked around the room. Jackson and Danny were each asleep on the couches while Boyd was starting to clean up their mess. Scott had taken Allison home last night on his new motorcycle. Well, new-ish.

He had given her the helmet and jacket, knowing that if they were to crash he would have a better chance at recovering from it than she would.

“Have… have you seen Isaac?” He asked.

She shook her head again. “No, why, is he missing?”

He could sense some hostility from her but ignored it. “No, I was just wondering.”

“Breakfast?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I’m fine.” He said.

_Liar_ , she thought.

“So where’s Allison?” She asked, earning a glare from Scott and Boyd let out a huffing sound.

“ _Erica_.” He hissed.

“What? She was here last night and now she’s not. Excuse me for asking a simple question.”

“You’re excused.” Scott said sharply. “What time is it?”

“Mid-morning.” Boyd answered.

Scott just nodded back.

“Why are you all always talking?” Jackson hissed from the couch.

Boyd chuckled a little and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Get off me!” He growled.

“He is seriously not a morning person.” He laughed, walking over to join the others in the kitchen.

Scott couldn’t help but wonder where Isaac had gone, why he had just left. He thought he knew the reason to that last one. He didn’t want to hear what Scott had to say, somehow it was easier to pretend that things between them were okay then to open himself up to the truth.

Danny woke up soon after and tried to rouse Jackson; who was having none of it. Eventually, after a lot of pestering and a little smothering with a pillow he got up and stalked into the kitchen for some food.

Boyd had cleaned up a lot of the mess with help from Scott and a begrudging Erica, who mostly stood around and told them that the room was a mess. After a long while Derek and Stiles came down the spiral stairs as well.

Derek took one look at the loft and sighed. “Remind me never to let you do this again.” He said to Stiles.

“Why would I do that?” He said back.

As the two exchanged glances Danny stood up and stretched out. “Well, I think I might head on home, did anyone need a lift?” He asked.

“Yeah, I might take you up on that, you live a few blocks from me.” Boyd said, standing up to follow him.

“Uh, thanks for… well thanks for letting us crash at your place Derek.” He said, not making too much eye contact.

“Don’t you mean ‘get trashed at’ his place?” Erica sneered.

“Yeah well, that too.” Danny said with a little smile.

“See you on Monday.” Jackson said and Danny gave him a nod.

Boyd gave everyone a wave and they both headed to the lift and towards Danny’s car.

“Hey, where’s Lydia?” Stiles asked.

He looked over at Jackson who shrugged and responded curtly. “I don’t know, at home? She left earlier.”

“Sorry, I thought you might give a crap about your girlfriend but apparently I was wrong.” Stiles said and Jackson looked just about ready to throttle him.

“Would the both of you settle down? If you’re not going to help me clean this place then you can all go home.” Derek said, thankful that Boyd takes the initiative.

“I actually should go home and start my reading for English class. I sort of did none over the break.” Stiles said sheepishly and Derek gave him a glare.

“Do you mind giving me a lift?” Erica asked, sliding off the kitchen bench and earning an even darker look from Derek.

“Danny just offered a lift, why didn’t you go with him?” He said.

“Maybe I wanted to go with Stiles?” She gave him a smile and Stiles couldn’t help but stifle his grin.

“I’m heading out too. I – I have some stuff to sort out.” Scott said, not saying another word or any goodbyes as he walked out.

“That was weird.” Erica said.

Stiles shrugged, “Not so much, you coming?”

She nodded and they went to follow Scott but not before Derek stopped Stiles and kissed him hard on the mouth, kind of taking his breath away. He didn’t ask, he didn’t have to, he just kissed him back before finally leaving with Erica.

“Dude, do you have to do that right in front of us?” Jackson said and Derek folded his arms, giving him an expectant look. “Oh no, I don’t think so.”

“Pick up the bottles and then wipe down that table. I’ll get rid of these boxes.” Derek said, heading over to clean up the pizza scraps as Jackson groaned and stomped over the the bottles loudly.

 

 

“You know he hates it when you do that right?” Stiles said as he drove Erica home in his jeep.

She looked over at him with a grin. “Why do you think I do it?”

“I honestly have no idea why he gets like that.”

“Probably because I kissed you that one time. I never thought he’d be the jealous type but it’s so much fun to annoy him.”

Stiles chuckled. “He’s your alpha, aren’t you supposed to respect him or fear him or something?”

“Oh I know that one day he’s going to turn around and break my arm but for now it’s amusing.” She said, winding down the window and letting her hair blow in the breeze.

“You going to stick your head out and let your tongue go wild?” He teased.

She turned to shake her head at him. “You wish.”

“What the hell was up with Jackson this morning? Did I miss something?” He asked.

“No, I personally didn’t notice any difference to normal.” She said.

“Something’s been up all week; do you think it has something to do with him and Lydia?”

She scoffed. “I know it does, they’re constantly arguing.”

“It’s probably just stupid high school crap.”

Erica shook her head. “Not this time.”

“Wait… you know what’s going on with them and you haven’t told me yet? What’s wrong with you?” Stiles said.

“I don’t actually care, that’s what.”

“Well I do! If there’s something going on I don’t want to be out of the loop.”

“It’s not your loop.”

“Is it really yours?”

“I guess not, I just happen to be in a lot of loops because I can hear a hell of a lot more than anyone else.” She said with a smile. “They’re arguing because Jackson wants them to take the year off and travel through Europe or something when we graduate and Lydia wants to go straight to college and start being a genius or something. And Jackson thinks that she should see the world and stop freaking out about the future and Lydia thinks that he needs to start planning a future and then I got bored and tuned out.”

Stiles just nodded for a second before a confused look crossed his face. “Are they seriously thinking of college and graduation already? We just started senior year.”

“Of course they are, aren’t you?” Erica asked.

“Why would I be? I have like, six whole months before I need to start thinking about that.” He said.

“Wrong again, you have maybe two months. Come New Year all the colleges are going to have open days and applications and then before you know it you’ll be off doing something for the next fifty years of your life.”

Stiles hadn’t thought about any of that yet, he was still thinking about trying to pass chemistry, let alone get into college or even what he wanted to do if he got there.

“Haven’t you thought about it at all yet?” She asked.

“Well, not really, I mean I’ll probably go to college somewhere.” He shrugged. “No one really knows what they’re going to do yet, I mean I’ll bet you’ve got no idea.”

“Me and Boyd are going to stay here with Derek.” She said.

Stiles nodded a little and suddenly realised that he hadn’t given anything much thought at all. Then he got slightly distracted. “You and Boyd-”

“We’re just friends Stiles.” She said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Why can't anybody realise that there’s nothing going on between us?”

“Well, you’re together all the time so-”

“So are you and Scott.”

“Yeah but Scott’s my best friend.”

“Yeah?” She said, giving him a look.

“Really? Boyd’s your best friend?” He asked.

“He’s sort of my only friend.”

“Hey, I take offence to that.” He said with the hint of a smile.

She shot him one back. “Okay, so I have two friends, Me and Boyd just get each other, that’s all. He’s going to stay here and join the USAF, unless there’s some serious crap he can stay based here and I am undecided about what to do. I’ll probably just take some community college course, I’ve got time to figure it out so…” She shrugged.

“Boyd wants to get into the Air Force?”

“He did junior ROTC, his dad was Air Force for a long time.” She said.

“You certainly know a lot about him.”

“We’re not together Stiles.” She growled.

“Okay, okay.” He said.

After a moment of just the tyres on the road she spoke up again.

“So if you go to college are you going to leave Derek?”

Stiles was taken aback and practically gave himself whiplash turning to look at her. “Why would you say that? I’m not going to leave Derek to go to college.”

“No, I mean physically, do you want to go to college out of state?” She said with a roll of her eyes.

He furrowed his brow and stared at the road ahead. “I haven’t thought about any of this.” He said.

“Maybe it’s time to start.” She said.

“Yeah… by the way, you must have seen where Lydia went this morning.”

“I did.” She said with a sigh.

“And?”

“And what? I don’t know where she went, I only saw her leave. She followed Isaac out at about seven this morning.”

“He left that early?”

“Yep, Scott got back kind of late last night and when he went upstairs I didn’t hear any yelling or fighting, it was actually kind of eerie. I guess he just doesn’t want to face the fact that Scott’s going to pick Allison.” She said.

“He’s not going to pick Allison.” Stiles scoffed.

“No? He’s not going to pick his gorgeous ex-girlfriend who was his first love and I’m sure his first for many other things too over his werewolf friend who came on to him over the summer?” She said.

“Well, of course it sounds bad when you put it like that.” He mumbled.

“Well what else does it sound like? They’d been broken up for like a month when he and Isaac started bumping the ugly.” She pushed him closer to her thoughts and then it hit him.

He sighed. “You think Isaac was like a rebound thing.”

She nodded. “I’m not saying I think it’s a good thing. He’d be better for Scott than a girl whose name means sliver and whose father is constantly inches away from shooting him with a crossbow. I just think Scott is too stupid and infatuated with Allison to realise it.”

“Are you trying to say that you’re Team Isaac?” Stiles grinned and she shook her head at him again.

“I’m saying that Isaac is the better choice, but I don’t actually care about Scott’s relationships.” She said.

“In other words, yes.”

She laughed. “Yeah Stiles, I’m Team Isaac.” She said sarcastically.

“Good, I think I am too. Allison had her shot.” The two of them just laughed and Stiles started thinking about Isaac and where he could have gone.

He tried not to worry but he could see it on his face last night, it was eating him up inside not to know and running from the problem was making him feel even worse. He just hoped that they would sort it out soon and that Isaac wasn’t going to get hurt.

 

 

Isaac sat on the cold wooden floor, looking around the empty room just thinking about it all. He tried not to think about the hours that went past the night before when Scott was out with Allison, he tried not to think about how happy they were the year before, back before the Kanima or the rest of the pack, back when they first fell in love, he tried not to think about how Scott reeked of her when he lay beside him, or how he hadn’t even reached out to touch him.

He sat in the place that he thought nobody would find him because right now he didn’t want to be found. He didn’t want reality to catch up to the picture his mind had already painted for him. Mostly he tried not to let the tears fall down his cheeks when he thought of the last two months.

He wished that he had never kissed him. No, he wouldn’t take back what they had, he just wished that he hadn’t told him that he loved him. He didn’t want to love him if it meant he had to lose him but now he didn’t have the choice. He was in love with Scott and he thought that he had felt the same.

The doubt had been growing in his mind for a while now but he had hoped himself wrong. It was starting to look more and more like the truth.

He barely slept that night, his mind wouldn’t shut off. He left early in the morning because he couldn’t bear to hear the words that Scott was holding in. The sound of his voice when he had come to bed was something different to what he’d heard before and if that meant that he was about to tear his heart from his chest then he didn’t think he was quite ready for it yet. He just needed some time alone.

So he had left early, left the room, left the apartment but he wasn’t alone. Once he started walking he heard someone following him and for a moment his heart seemed to fall out of his chest but when the scent hit his nostrils it wasn’t Scott, it was Lydia.

 

_“Isaac! Where are you going?” She said, shivering in the cold morning air._

_“Just for a walk, you should be back inside where it’s warmer.” He said._

_“I’m perfectly fine. Why are you out here so early?”_

_“I just needed to be_ alone _.” He said._

_“Is this about the kiss?” She asked and that time his heart did fall out of his chest. Lydia’s eyes got wide when she saw the expression on his face and tried to backtrack. “I… uh… what I meant was-”_

_“They kissed?” He asked softly._

_Lydia just stood there with her mouth open for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. “If I’m going by what she texted to me then… yes.”_

_His mind was begging him to ask her all the questions he knew she didn’t have._ How? When? Where were they? Did he kiss her or did she kiss him? Why? What did it mean? _He just swallowed hard and searched the ground at his feet for some kind of answer._

_“I’m sorry… I thought you and Scott-”_

_“Why… what happened?” He asked, cutting her off._

_“I don’t know the whole story; I think it should be Scott who tells you anything.” She said._

_“Please can you just tell me what you know?” He begged, his eyes glassy and she felt her own heart breaking as she looked into them._

_She sighed again and slipped her arm through his, walking down the path but on a road to nowhere in particular. “Well… she said that they just went for a walk and sat down to talk. And they talked for a long time.”_

_“Did she tell him… does she want to get back together with him?”_

_“I don’t know, but she told him that she still loves him.” Isaac felt like he had pins and needles running through his body, he felt numb. “And… Isaac he said that he still loves her too.”_

_It was like he had been thrown in an ice cold bath, like every part of him was screaming and aching and burning all at the same time._

_“Oh.” That was all he could manage._

_“I think you really need to talk to him about it. I don’t know if that’s just her side or-”_

_“No, it’s true, it has to be true.”_

_She squeezed his arm a little more. “Let’s go and get some breakfast. You can talk about it if you want or we don’t have to say anything.”_

 

He didn’t want to say anything or think anything, he just wanted to shut off his mind, but it was still ticking over hours later and Scott still hadn’t messaged or called. He was starting to think that being alone for a while longer might actually do him some good.

 

 

Scott kept looking at his phone but he had nothing from Isaac. He knew that he probably didn’t want to talk to him, he probably didn’t want to know what had happened last night but Scott knew that he needed to. Something had to be said and something had to be done.

He sent a message to Stiles asking him if he had seen Isaac but there was no luck there.

 

**Sorry man, this time he wasn’t in my bed. U want help to look?**

 

Scott sighed, knowing that he didn’t want to be found. Then he realised that he knew where Isaac would go if he was trying to hide.

 

_All G. I think I know where to find him._

 

**Can you please let me know when you do? And once you’ve talked to him you better explain everything to me, OK?**

 

Scott didn’t bother replying to that, he just hopped on his bike and drove off down the streets. He drove through the suburbs and even past Jackson’s street before he found the right one.

He stopped at a house that looked like any other, the ‘For Sale’ sign on the front lawn looking a little bit shabby and the grass was overgrown but it was just your average suburban house.

He parked the bike in the drive and walked around the side to find one of the windows unlocked, pushing it upwards and climbing through. He dropped his helmet on the couch and walked through the house, following his nose until he opened the door to the master bedroom.

Sitting on the floor and against the wall was Isaac, one knee up and staring down at the other. As Scott entered the room he looked up at him and the two started at one another, not sure who should be the one to speak first.

Scott didn’t know what he would say and Isaac didn’t know if he was going to say _anything_ so they remained staring at one another, the silence swallowing the room until all they could hear was the sound of the other’s beating heart.


	6. Chapter Six

“How did you find me?” Isaac said softly.

“You weren’t anywhere else.” Scott replied.

“I didn’t think anyone would look here.”

“It’s _your_ house.”

Isaac sighed. “Not really, not for long.”

Scott looked away, looking around the room and at anything other than Isaac as he urged the words out of his mouth. “Are you okay?” He said so softly that human ears might not have picked it up.

“What do you think Scott?” He said quietly, his teeth coming down hard on his bottom lip.

He sighed. “I’m sorry that you had to get caught up in the middle of this…”

“I’m not in the middle of this, I’m on the outside looking in to see if there’s still room for me to be there.”

“Well… I never wanted to hurt you.”

“By kissing Allison?” He said and Scott’s head shot up.

“How did you-”

“Does it matter? It’s true isn’t it?” He wasn’t yelling or crying, he was just speaking while trying not to let his voice crack.

Scott nodded. “Yeah… it’s true.”

Isaac nodded back, trying to force back his tears as he spoke. “And that you love her?”

Scott didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to, they both knew that it was the truth. He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know how to start. “Isaac…”

“I already knew that you loved her Scott, I knew that before last night and before today… I’ve known it for a long time and don’t try to tell me that she’s not the reason you don’t want your mom to know about us or… or anything else. I know that part of you still wants her and if I’m honest I’ve just been waiting for you to come out with it and say that she wants you back.” A tear dropped down over his cheek and Scott couldn’t stand it.

“I’m sorry Isaac.” He took long strides over to him and dropped to his knees, brushing away his tears.

“Scott don’t…” He said, taking hold of Scott’s wrist but instead of pushing him away he held on to it tightly. “Did you mean it?”

“What? Did I mean what?” He asked, one hand cupping Isaac’s face and the other holding tightly to his shoulder.

“When you said you loved me did you mean it or did you just not want me to feel like an idiot?”

“Why would you-”

“Because you’re still in love with Allison! If she asked, you’d go back to her. I’m not the only one who thinks so.” He said.

“It’s not that simple anymore.” Scott swallowed.

“But it was, until I did something about my feelings for you everything was easy. You were waiting for Allison, you still are Scott.” He said.

“I didn’t expect to feel something for anyone else, you can't blame me for still having feelings for her.”

“I don’t blame you Scott, I just thought that you’d figure out what you wanted before now. I should never have…” His voice trailed off and Scott leant in to rest his head against Isaac’s.

“I’m so sorry Isaac, I didn’t want you to get hurt and I know I should have thought it through more but-”

“Do you love me?” Isaac’s eyes turned upward to stare straight into Scott’s.

“Isaac I-”

“Do you… love me?” He asked again.

“Of course I do, I love you.” He whispered, running his fingers through Isaac's delicate curls.

“Do you love her more?”

“I don’t know.”

“You have to make a choice. She still loves you, and I love you too. You can't stay in the middle and have both. Did… did she say that she wanted the two of you to get back together?”

“She doesn’t really know what she wants.” Scott said.

“Well I want _you_. I know it’s not that simple for you but I’m here, and I want you and I love you.” He pleaded. “But… if you stand here right now and tell me you want her more I’ll walk away. If she makes you happy I won't stop you from making that choice but I need you to know how I feel before you do.”

Scott let his other hand reach up to caress Isaac’s square jaw and tilted his lips up until they found his own. They were soft and damp from his tears but they felt like home and he didn’t know if he was ready to let them go.

As he pulled them apart he looked into his eyes again. “Allison is the first person I ever really loved, she’s the first one who ever really loved me.” Isaac nodded, his eyes turning away. “… but with you…” They darted back, hating himself for being so vulnerable but needing to hear his words and to see them fall from his lips. “With you… it was like falling for my best friend, and you just get me in way that she’ll never be able to… I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.”

“It’s not about what you’re supposed to do.” Isaac said softly.

Scott closed his eyes, he really wished this was an easy choice but it wasn’t. Was he ready to let go of Allison? Was he ready to finally come clean about his relationship with Isaac? He had no answers.

Without warning Isaac let him go and pulled away, standing up and walking over to the door leaving Scott on his knees and with a bewildered look on his face. “Where are you going?” He asked.

“I’m not, but I think I need you to leave.” He said.

Scott stood up and walked over to him. “Isaac…”

“It’s not about me, it’s about you. You have to make some kind of decision and if you can't make one soon… I don’t want to put a deadline on you Scott but I can't live in this state anymore. I can't sit back and be with you knowing that tomorrow you might tell me that you’re going back to her. If you can't choose soon then I will, and there’s only one decision that I can make.”

Scott sighed. “I know.” He said. “You have to believe me when I say I never wanted to hurt you.”

Isaac nodded and stepped away from the door to let him pass. Scott tried to reach out to him but he pulled back and Scott hung his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Isaac said as he watched Scott slowly leave the house, listening to his footsteps and the sound of his bike starting up until he was driving down the street and he was left in total silence again.

 

 

_Derek –_

 

I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to bring Jackson into the pack. I really don’t. All he does is complain.

He probably hasn’t cleaned a thing in his life which is why he was terrible at it. I was just thankful that he was finally gone. I barely had the chance to sit down before I heard someone approaching from downstairs.

I let out a groan and waited for the lift to open, groaning even louder when my uncle walked through with his arrogant little grin.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

He tilted his head to the side. “Did we have a bad night?”

“Only the parts of it that I spent with you.” I said.

“Well that’s too bad because I think we need to spend a bit more time tending to our little problem.” He took a seat on the couch opposite me and I glared at him.

“I’m going to tell them you know, before the full moon. If we’re right then we can't let them be unprepared.” I said.

“Who says there’s anything to prepare for?”

I raised my eyebrow. “If there is nothing to prepare for then why do you keep hunting me down to talk about it?”

“You don’t need them to sort this out Derek, they’re teenagers and they probably have much less interesting things on their tiny little minds.” He said.

I shook my head. “They’re also my pack.”

“Yes well, you did decide to make your pack out of a group of teenagers so I suppose it’s to be expected.”

“I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again. You were the one who turned Scott.”

“That’s true, but you have to admit that Scott’s got a little more… something… than the rest of them. I mean, he had the chutzpah to keep up a relationship with a hunter.”

“Don’t try to justify yourself.” I said.

“Well fine, I take your point. How is the little woman, still retired?” He smiled.

“They’re not together anymore.” I said, standing up to walk into the kitchen, trying to get away from him.

“No? How heartbreaking.”

“What do you want this time? Is there something I should know or are you just here to annoy me?”

He gave me a pained look. “Derek… it hurts that you think of me that way.” I stared at him blankly. “We know they’re here, we just don’t know why so maybe we should get to the figuring that out.”

“You know that to do that we’ll have to confront them.”

“Not necessarily. I happen to like the element of surprise.” His lips twisted into a smile.

“I’m not going to attack them. I don’t want to make enemies if I can help it.”

“Do you really think that they’ll be friend?”

“No, what I want here is a truce.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“Don’t we have enough of those?”

“This is my pack, not yours.”

“I came to you as family, not pack.”

‘No, you came to me because you can't take on the three of them without my help and you were hoping to find it. Well that’s not how I run things so tomorrow I’m going to call a pack meeting and then it’ll be out in the open for all of them to cast their judgements on.”

“Maybe we should have a vote.”

“I’m the alpha, they won't go against my ruling.” I said, a snarl lacing its way into my voice.

He put his hands up in surrender. “Can I just ask that when you do decide to make your move that you allow me the pleasure of standing by your side?” I am getting sick to death of his sarcasm.

“I’m going to need your help anyway.” I said.

He smiled, “well then I suppose it’s settled.”

“Can you leave me alone now?” I asked.

“Why, certainly.” He said with a small bow that made me grind my teeth.

He headed out as quickly as he had come and now I’m just in a bad mood. I walked up to the bedroom to find my book and just lay back in bed reading, happy for some peace and quiet.

It may have been a few hours later that I was interrupted but it felt like no time at all. My phone buzzed in my pocket, a message coming through. As I checked it I saw that it was from Stiles.

 

**Hey SW I think you need to go check on Isaac**

 

I grunted a little.

 

_Why?_

 

**Long story, Scott told me he was at his house and he wanted to be alone**

 

_If he wants to be alone then why do I need to check on him?_

 

**Just do it, he’ll talk to you**

 

I sighed and knew that there was something wrong. I could kill Scott for this, but I won't.

 

_Fine_

 

**Text me later honey ;)**

 

_Don’t make me rip your throat out_

 

He has to push it that little bit too far. I shoved my phone in my pocket and knew that he was right about Isaac, I needed to see him and make sure he was alright. If he was at his house then something had to be wrong. I don’t think he’s been back in a long while.

When his father had died Isaac exercised his legal right to choose where he lived, he was over sixteen and he knew he couldn’t afford to keep the house so he had to organise with the lawyers and the bank to sell the house, the overdue mortgage payments would be paid off with the money from the sale and the rest would go under Isaac’s name.

I was all too familiar with lawyers and inheritance issues. I wish I couldn’t relate to Isaac about it but I can.

I locked up and headed out to the Camaro, on my way to Isaac’s old house. When I pulled up I couldn’t see any lights on, despite the sun sitting low in the sky. I tried the door and found it unlocked, walking through the house and knowing exactly where he was; the master bedroom.

As I walked up the hall and stood in the doorway I heard him sigh.

“Did Scott send you in here?” He asked.

“No,” I answered, leaning against the frame.

“Right, must have been Stiles.” He muttered.

“It couldn’t have just been me?”

“You never would have found me here.”

“No, but Scott did.” I said and he shook his head. “Why _did_ you come here?”

“I don’t know, I just did.” I nodded and walked in.

He was sitting on the floor and leaning up against the wall. I didn’t switch on the light I just wandered over at sat next to him, stretching out just the same.

“You’re not going to give me some big speech?” He asked.

“I don’t do that.” I said.

Why don’t any of them seem to get that I don’t do talking?

We sat in silence for a while, I’m not sure how long. If he wanted to say anything he’d do it at his own pace. I heard my pocket buzzing and shook my head at Stiles’ impatience.

“Maybe you should get that.” Isaac said.

“It’ll still be there later.”

He sighed and pulled his knees up against his chest. “Yeah… I guess it will.”

Maybe that was a bad choice of words on my part. This is why I never say anything. I just waited some more, knowing Isaac well enough to know that something was getting ready to come out of his mouth.

Finally he spoke up. “Hey Derek, do you ever worry about losing Stiles?”

I sighed. “Yes… but not in the way you mean.”

“You worry that he’s going to die?”

“I worry that I’m going to kill him. Not with my own hands but as a result of him being with me.”

“I don’t want to lose _everything_.” He said softly.

“You really think _Scott_ was everything?”

“He’s the only thing I’ve got; everyone else is dead or gone. To me… he is everything.”

I sighed, knowing exactly what he meant. He had no family and no home, Scott was the one thing that had made him feel both no matter where he was. I know that feeling.

“You’ve got the pack. That’s not going to change.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I just thought I had Scott too.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t have much to say that would help him.

“I pushed him to talk to her.” He said. “I know it had to be done but I almost wish we could just go back to pretending that this thing between them didn’t exist. He’ll choose her; he was always going to choose her.”

After that he didn't say anything, not a word. We sat in his parents’ old bedroom in silence and I don’t know what I was waiting for but I was waiting and it didn’t matter how long. I wasn’t going to leave him alone when that’s exactly how he felt.

He’s my pack, and I’m not going to leave him this way.

 

 

_Scott –_

 

When I made it home I saw mom’s car was parked and I didn’t want her to see me. I know she would have heard the bike but I don’t care. I climbed up the side of the house to enter through my window.

I went straight to the bathroom and locked the door, running the shower and not being able to get out of my clothes fast enough. I tore off my shirt and threw it to the ground. I balled up my fists as my body began to shake.

I didn’t know if I was angry with myself or upset but great sobs heaved my body forward and back and once my clothes were strewn across the floor I stepped into the tub and sat back, letting the water run over me as I put my head in my hands.

How could I let it get this far out of control? I’m hurting him, I saw it in his eyes that I was killing him inside with every admission. I couldn’t lie to him even if I wanted to but he needed to know.

How am I supposed to choose between Allison and Isaac? It can't be both and right now I don’t even know what I’m doing.

“Scott?” My mom’s voice was muffled through the door but I could still hear the worry in it. “Scott are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” I called back, my voice not quite my own.

“Are you sure?”

“Mom I’m fine! Just go!” I sobbed.

I wasn’t going to fool her like that, there was no way. She didn’t say anything else but she must be out there worried which just made me feel worse.

I let the water fall over my back and shoulders as I rested my head on my knees and sobbed to myself. I can't help if I love more than one person can I? I don’t want either of them to feel hurt because of me but it’s already done.

I heard it in Isaac’s voice that he didn’t believe me when I said that I loved him, but I do. I didn’t mean to fall for him the way I did. I tried not to let myself but for some reason I couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t stop myself from seeing him.

I don’t know how long I was in there for but it must have been a while because the water started to run cold. I climbed out with shaking hands and wrapped the towel around my waist. As I stared at myself in the mirror I wanted to punch my reflection, I wanted him to pay for the damage he caused, the damage I caused.

I dried off slowly and pulled on a shirt and my shorts, hanging up the towel and finally opening the door. I only took one step into the room before my mother was standing beside me, her eyes fraught with worry.

“I might not be as intuitive as you Scott but I know when something is wrong with my own son.” She put her hand on my shoulder and my face fell.

“I’m sorry mom, I don’t want you to worry… it’s nothing, it’s nothing.” I blubbered, letting her guide me to the bed and sit herself down beside me.

“You can tell me what’s going on Scott, all I want is for you to talk to me.” She said, stroking my hair and resting her cheek against the top of my head.

After calming myself down enough to speak I sighed. “Do you think it’s possible to love more than one person?”

“Is this about Allison?” She asked softly.

“Kind of.”

“Someone else?”

“I don’t know how it happened… it just… did.”

“Are you and Allison together?” I shook my head. “So you’re seeing someone else?”

“Maybe… we might not be anymore.” She sighed too, holding me tighter as I told her how I said I would wait for Allison. “I just… while I was waiting I got… someone else just came in and…”

“Listen Scott, you can love any number of people at once, you just have to know when one thing is over and how to let it go. Do you want to get back together with Allison?”

“Well I love her…”

“You might love her, but being with her is completely different and that’s what you have to decide. If this ‘someone else’ wants you here and now then maybe it’s time to give them the chance they deserve. I can't imagine you falling for anyone who didn’t deserve it.” I sat quietly as I let her words sink in and she turned to kiss my head. “Love isn’t the only thing you have to think about Scott, being with someone is so much more than that.”

I knew she was right. What she said made so much sense and I know there’s only one thing to do.

“I know this might not mean much coming from me, I’m probably the person with the least luck when it comes to love.” She said and I managed a small smile.

I looked up at her. “I love you mom.”

Her face melted into a smile and she pulled me in again for a hug. “I love you too. You’ll always have me, I promise.”

She held me for a long time, and I was glad for her warm embrace. When she finally stood up she walked to the door and turned to look back at me.

“If you’re hungry there’s some food downstairs.” She smiled.

“Thanks mom, I think I’m just going to stay up here and get some sleep.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “Just do what feels right Scott, you can't get that wrong.” She left me with a warm smile and I let out another breath of air and turned to my phone on the bedside table.

I took a hold of it and punched in the number that I knew off by heart. I put the phone to my ear and waited out the first three rings.

“Hey, it’s me.” I said softly. “I need to tell you something, I need to tell you that… that I want you.”


	7. Chapter Seven

_24 hours later_

 

“So, what happened?” Stiles asked.

“I don’t know, she hasn’t said much to me.” Lydia said with a shrug.

“Well what about Isaac?” Erica said.

Stiles shook his head. “I only know what Derek told me.”

“Which is?” Lydia said with her eyebrows raised.

He sighed, “Not much.”

“Invite her over here so she can clear it up for us.” Erica said, rolling her eyes.

“She hasn’t spoken to me since he called her last night.” Lydia shrugged again.

“Wait, he what?” Stiles sat up straight and stared at her.

“Did I stutter?”

“He called Isaac as well.” He said.

“I don’t even know why I’m here.” Erica muttered.

“You can pretend this doesn’t interest you if you like but we both know that you’re as big a gossip as I am.” Lydia said and Erica just shook her head. “What happened with Isaac?”

Stiles sighed, telling them the same story that Derek had told him.

 

_Well, Derek was at his house with him and I guess they weren’t saying much because Derek doesn’t do big rousing pep-talks, or even small pep-talks. The best you’re going to get from him is a few sarcastic comments._

_Anyway, he said that they talked a little but then they just kind of sat in silence until Isaac’s phone rang. Derek told him to answer it and as he did he left Isaac on his own. Something about not wanting to invade his privacy or whatever. He did say that it was Scott’s voice on the line but that was all he heard._

_He went out and sat in his car for a while and then Isaac came out and he took him back to his place, never to be seen again._

 

“That’s it?” Erica asked.

“I thought you didn’t care.” Lydia said sweetly.

“Well if I’m going to be here I might as well join in.”

“Yeah okay, what did Allison tell you?” Stiles said impatiently.

“She hasn’t said much to me, she called me after he called her and then I’ve heard nothing since.”

“You know it’s getting dark out here, aren’t you guys afraid of what happens under the light of the moon?” Erica said, earning a glare from both of the others. “Fine, go on then, get to telling us.”

Lydia rolled her eyes before beginning her story.

 

_I was just at home texting Jackson, he was being a jerk as usual so I was in a very trying mood. Anyway, I was halfway through a strongly worded text when the phone started ringing and I almost didn’t answer. I thought it was probably something less important than it was but for some reason I picked it up._

_I started to say that I was very busy abusing Jackson for being an ass when she sort of blurted out that Scott had called her and that he was on his way over. I think I must have stopped saying anything for a while but she kept talking._

_I mean, she mostly said things like ‘he wanted things to finally be right between them’ and that she had no idea what to do and I was inches from asking her about Isaac but then I figured that Scott still hadn’t told her and if they were getting back together then maybe he wouldn’t tell her._

_She said that she wasn’t ready to sort everything out yet and I just said that maybe it needed to be done. Then she just sort of said goodbye and she was gone._

 

“That’s it?” Stiles said. “When she said ‘he wanted things to be right’ did she say that he wanted to get back together?”

“She just said what she said and she was gone.” Lydia said.

“So call her.” They both turned to Erica again who rolled her eyes and lay back down on the grass. “Not that I care.”

The other two lay back with her. They had been sitting in the park for over an hour, for a while they had tried not to talk about that thing that everyone was thinking. Allison, Scott and Isaac had all missed school that day so none of them had the chance to talk to them.

The sun was almost set and so far they were no closer to figuring the whole thing out. Stiles and Lydia weren’t shy about admitting their interest in the subject and couldn’t help but gossip. Stiles never was good at keeping secrets. He has been so close to telling his father about werewolves accidentally and Lydia was only able to keep the secrets that mattered, the others being too interesting to keep quiet. Erica pretended that she didn’t care but secretly she enjoyed finally having friends to gossip with, not that she would really consider Lydia a friend.

“This is so ridiculous, isn’t it?” Lydia said.

“Haven’t I been saying that this whole time?” Erica said.

“Oh for god’s sake, Lydia, just do the call thing.” Stiles said, sitting up.

The others followed suit and Lydia grabbed her purse, pulling out her phone. “I’ve already tried this like five times but I’ll give it another go.”

She searched for the number and pressed the green call button. As she put it to her ear Stiles saw Erica tune her ears in and tried to strain his own ears to listen. They didn’t expect anything to come of the call which is why they all looked bewildered when the grainy voice on the other end of the line spoke up.

“Allison! Hi!” Lydia said, her eyes growing wide. “What happened last night? You never called me back.”

Stiles couldn’t hear what Allison was saying but clearly the other two could. He huffed and jutted out his lip, his ‘I’m annoyed’ face in full swing.

“No, that’s okay, clearly you had bigger issues. What happened?” They all sat there waiting as Allison explained everything, Erica and Lydia exchanging looks and Stiles was just dying to hear what she was saying. “He did? Well what did – oh… no I know, I know… Yeah, okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then… bye.” She hung up and sighed.

Stiles was busting for answers. “Well?!” He said.

“Well I know what happened.” She said.

“What? What the hell happened?!”

 

 

When he left Isaac’s house the previous evening Derek had waited for a while in his car. He wanted to give Isaac the chance to come with him back to the loft but he hadn’t expected him to come out.

He had only been there ten minutes when he saw him leave through the front door, not bothering to lock it behind him. Derek flashed his lights and Isaac turned toward him, pausing for a moment to think before heading towards him.

As he climbed into the car Derek said nothing. Unlike the others he didn’t feel the need to know what was going on between Scott and Isaac. He had driven him home and let him do as he pleased, which consisted of heading straight inside and up to his bedroom.

He didn’t come out that morning and Derek wasn’t his father so he didn’t force him into going to school. He did make sure that Stiles was going, mainly because he wanted him to succeed but partly because he knew that he would be over straight away to pester Isaac.

He didn’t see much of Isaac all day, he spent the time holed up in his room, coming out only to get glasses of water and see if there was anything to eat. He came down a little more when he realised that Derek wasn’t going to ask him any questions and that they were alone.

All until that evening at least, when Isaac sat trying to study at the table and Derek was reading on the couch. The two of them heard the lift kick into gear and watched the doors until they slowly creaked open to reveal Scott standing there.

Isaac’s gaze was unfaltering and Scott only broke to look over to Derek. He rolled his eyes and got up off the couch with his book. He walked past Scott and down the lift, annoyed at the fact that he was leaving his own apartment but he would rather be gone than have to listen to the two of them bicker or scream or worse; make up.

He shuddered to think of it and in seconds the doors were closed and they were gone from sight.

Scott looked over at Isaac who had his bottom lip between his teeth and worry in his eyes. He swallowed hard and stepped forward a little.

“I uh… I talked to Allison last night.” He said.

“Oh.” Isaac didn’t know what else to say so he just waited.

“I called her because I thought it was finally time that we sorted everything out.” Isaac nodded to him.

“That’s good, you need to know what… options you have.” He turned away.

“Isaac…” He looked up and Scott gave him a weak smile. “Isaac I told her everything. I told her how I felt and what I wanted and about … about us.”

“You what?” he asked, a little shocked.

“Isaac I told you that I wanted you and after… after I had a talk with my mom I knew that I had to tell Allison that I wasn’t going to wait anymore.” He stepped forward, walking towards him.

“You really told her about you and me?” He asked.

“I’ve never felt anything like what I feel with you and I haven’t exactly been fair to you.” He said, guilt laden in his voice.

“You said that you wanted me but you had to talk to Allison, I thought…”

“Sorry, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m not so good with words.” Isaac couldn’t help but manage a little smile. “I want to be with you Isaac and I think that I don’t want to hide it anymore, even though most of them already know.”

Isaac pulled a face. “I’m pretty sure they all know now, except maybe Danny.”

“I promise I’ll get to telling my mom-”

“Hey…” Isaac walked up to him and took his hand lightly. “If you need to wait or, I don’t know, if you aren’t ready for that then I’m happy to just have the pack know. I just couldn’t handle feeling like some kind of dirty secret.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel like that.” Scott sighed.

“Do you really mean it though? Do you really want us to be together?” Isaac asked.

Scott looked up and into his eyes, reaching up to caress his cheek. “I love you, and that… that just feels right. I can't get that wrong, can I?”

Isaac’s smile got brighter and he let go of Scott’s hand to take him by the waist. He pulled him in close and Scott looped his other arm around Isaac’s back, pinning them together as their lips met in a tender embrace.

Scott’s body melted as Isaac’s lips branded him in a way that none other had ever done. The idea of telling his mom about them still made him nervous beyond a doubt but in that moment all he could feel was the ecstasy of having Isaac back in his arms.

Isaac couldn’t even begin to explain how he felt in that moment. He had been so worried, so scared that he would lose Scott and now he had chosen him over Allison; he just couldn’t believe it. He kissed him with more passion than he ever had before and Scott had to pull his lips away just to catch his breath.

Isaac didn’t let him go; he didn’t want to ever let him slip through his fingers.

“Isaac…” He breathed.

“I know…” He whispered back.

Scott smiled. “No you don’t… you don’t know what I was going to say.”

“I do, I can smell it on you and I know you don’t want to take that step yet.” He saw Scott’s cheeks flush as he turned his face away. “Come on, let’s just go lie in bed and talk.” He said.

“Isaac I-”

“Hey… just come on, I’m tired of being away from you and to be honest your apologies are starting to get annoying.” He grinned and Scott let out a laugh.

“Oh really?” He said.

“Yeah, really.” He gave him one more quick kiss before pulling himself out of Scott’s arms and taking his hand.

Scott smiled, his stomach fluttering as he realised that finally making the choice and getting it out in the open made him feel so much better. It helped that Isaac’s smile had come back too.

When they made it to Isaac’s bedroom they kicked off their shoes and climbed under the sheets, Scott lying back to let Isaac rest his head on his chest. His heartbeat sounded like the most soothing thing in the world.

“So… how’d things go with Allison then? What did she say?” Isaac asked, his fingers tracing lines up and down Scott’s arm.

Scott sighed. “I don’t know really. It felt like it went okay but I just don’t think she was expecting… well, I don’t think she expected me to find someone else anyway.”

“I guess not.” He said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Scott wriggled down so that he was on his side, Isaac doing the same until they were face to face.

“Why did you do it?” He said softly.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you tell her that you couldn’t wait anymore?  I thought you told her the other night that you loved her.” He said.

“Yeah, I did. I just…” He sighed again. “You were right and my mom was right, I can't just love her and wait until she’s ready to have me back – if that day was ever going to come. I mean, I love her but that’s not the only part of being with someone. You wanted to be with me and we have something that I didn’t have with her.” Isaac nodded, lips turning up slightly at the corners.

“ _And_ …?” He said cheekily.

Scott rolled his eyes. “And I love you.”

Isaac leant in, kissing him once, and then twice before just resting his lips against the edge of Scott’s jaw. “I love you too.” He mumbled. “You sure you don’t have any regrets?”

“You know what… I thought that finally ending things with Allison was going to be the hardest thing I’d ever have to do but it actually kind of made me feel… free. I don’t know, it sounds stupid but it was like I was just stuck in one place.” He said, hoping that his words made some kind of sense.

“What did she think about you and me?” Isaac asked.

“She was… pretty shocked to say the least. I think she’s probably going to keep her distance for a bit.” He sighed.

“I guess you had to know that things couldn’t stay the same.” Isaac reached out to run his hand through Scott’s short brown hair.

“I know, I just hope it’s not too weird for her to stay with the group. I’d hate for that to be my fault.” He said.

“Her and Lydia are pretty close, I’m sure she won't keep away for long.”

“She might, I don’t know if she wants to spend her time with her ex and his boyfriend.”

Isaac smiled, “Is that what I am? Am I your boyfriend?”

Scott laughed and rolled his eyes playfully. “Well you’re not my _girl_ friend. What? What is it?”

Isaac was just starting thoughtfully, his eyes studying Scott’s face in a way that made his cheeks hot and his heart race. “It’s nothing… it’s just that you never really called me that before. It’s nice.” He shrugged.

Scott smiled and leant in for a kiss. “So I can keep calling you that then?”

“Scott, you can call me anything you like; just so long as I can say that you’re mine.”

He pulled Isaac in closer, the heat from his body almost overwhelming but he didn’t care. “I think that’s a fair deal.” He said, leaving him a kiss that he was sure to remember.

 

 

“So… did you get any study done today son?” The sheriff asked as he and Stiles sat down for dinner, a rare occasion.

“Yeah, I had school all day dad.” He replied, shovelling in some more pasta.

“That’s not what I meant by study.”

“Isn’t it the same thing?” He said with a mouthful.

“No, it’s not. I thought you would have been thinking more about college this year.” He said.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Why is everyone obsessed with college already? Come on, we’ve got time.”

“Sure, you’ve got time but don’t you have any idea about what you want to do when you leave?” The sheriff said, staring his son down.

He shrugged. “I’ll probably go to college.”

“To do what exactly Stiles?”

“I don’t know, maybe I’ll do criminology or something.”

“Criminology? Really?” His father looked a little honoured and Stiles shook his head.

“Well I always seem to be doing your job so why not learn how to do it better.” He teased.

His father laughed. “Is that so? Well if you’re going to do it then you make sure you do it better than me. It’s all a father can hope for.” He smiled.

“Seriously? You think I should do it?”

“I think you’d make a great detective, not a local cop. You’re too big for this town Stiles, I’ve always known that.” Stiles gave a little nod and went back to eating his dinner. “Plus, you’ve got somewhere to do work experience if you need it. I might have to do a little smooth talking but it’s a start.”

“Whoa, whoa dad, I said I maybe want to do criminology, I’m so not even thinking about it all yet.”

“Well you better get to it then.” His father nodded at him.

They both heard the doorbell ring and Stiles got up quickly. “That’ll be Derek.” He said.

He headed through the lounge room and let Derek in. He walked with him back into the kitchen to say hello to the sheriff.

“Evening sheriff.” He nodded politely.

“Nice to see you Derek, do you want to grab a plate? It’s just spaghetti though, nothing fancy.” He said with a small smile.

Derek was about to speak up when Stiles let out a loud laugh. “He can’t, too many carbs.” He teased and Derek narrowed his eyes.

“Ignore him.” Derek said.

“Usually do.” He said and Stiles seemed a little offended. “It’s on the stove, you can help yourself.”

“Thanks sir.” He said, Stiles stifled a laugh.

He would never get tired of Derek trying to stay in his dad’s good-books. They finished of their dinner, Derek only ate a little and refused to let the sheriff wash up, earning himself a few more brownie points. As his dad headed into the lounge to relax with a glass of whiskey Stiles began to question Derek about Isaac.

“So did Isaac tell you what happened? Lydia told me that Allison-”

“Stiles, you should know that I’m not getting involved in any of their business and I suggest you do the same.” He said, his long sleeves rolled up as he loaded the plates into the dishwasher.

“You know you’re so cute when you do housework.” He said, wrapping his hands around Derek’s waist and kissing him on the shoulder.

Derek tensed and gritted his teeth. “Is that supposed to make me talk?”

“No, it was just an observation. If I wanted to make you talk I would just do this…” He slipped his hand down until he was cupping the front of his jeans.

“ _Stiles_!” Derek hissed, pulling his hips out of his grasp and narrowing his eyes. “Your dad is in the other room.”

“Oh come on I wasn’t going to do anything.” Derek shook his head and went back to the dishes. “But seriously, you have to know something, anything. Just a little scrap of information for me to relay – _keep_ – for me to keep to myself.”

He rolled his eyes. “Scott’s over there right now, in my house.”

“Trust you to be pissed off at being kicked out of the loft.” Stiles scoffed.

“Hey, I was not ‘kicked out’, I left because I can't avoid them in that place.” He said.

“Aw Derek, that’s so sweet.”

“Don’t make me kick your ass.” He growled.

Stiles chuckled. “So what happened?”

“What?”

“With Scott for god’s sake!”

“I don’t know, I left so I wouldn’t have to know. You’re going to have to call Scott to find that out.” He said.

“You’re right.” Stiles reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

Derek grabbed him by the wrist to stop him. “Well not _now_.”

“Right, the make-up sex, or is it break up sex?” He pondered the thought and Derek rolled his eyes again. “Speaking of…” His hands went into another groping mode and Derek was forced to defend himself, lest the sheriff walked in and throttled him.


	8. Chapter Eight

_One week later_

 

“So…” Lydia said.

She had her legs crossed, her favourite red pumps on, and a darling blue dress that hung low at the back. She twirled a few strands of loose hair around her perfectly manicured finger and tilted her head to the side.

“So what?” Allison said, holding her coffee close to her lips and giving Lydia a look of mock confusion.

Lydia let out a huffing sound. “You know perfectly well ‘so what’. Are you ever going to come back to talking to everyone?”

“It’s only been a week Lydia. Am I allowed to take some time to get used to the fact that my ex-boyfriend is – that he’s –”

“Dating one of his best friends?” Lydia offered up.

“Yeah, yeah that one.” Allison mumbled, putting her coffee down on the table and sighing.

“Well, you did tell him that you were breaking up with him.” Lydia shrugged, sliding the spoon for her coffee down her tongue and giving Allison a pair of wide eyes.

She stared back, her jaw dropped and an exasperated gasp falling from her lips. “Lydia.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying that he’s a guy and they can't – and won't – wait forever.”

“Are we still talking about Scott?” Allison asked, suspecting something more to be on her mind.

“Of course we are.” She said. “Who else would we be talking about?”

“Oh I don’t know, Jackson maybe.” They both looked up to see Erica standing with her arms folded by their table.

“And who invited you?” Allison said coldly.

“Are you still mad at me for not telling you about Isaac and Scott?” She said as if she couldn’t care less and Allison rolled her eyes. “You know that Lydia knew too.”

Allison’s head snapped to Lydia who was looking from one to the other with her coffee at her lips, taking a sip before trying to think of a decent excuse.

“I… uh… well I didn’t so much _know_ as I did have an inkling.” She said.

“And you didn’t think to share it with me?” Allison asked.

“It wasn’t… confirmed per say… why are you even here?” Lydia looked up at Erica who smiled.

“Derek’s called a pack meeting and he wants the two of you there… not that I have any idea why.” She mumbled the last bit and Allison shook her head.

“Is it wrong that I don’t care what Derek wants right now? He’s not _my_ alpha.” She said.

“Well I was told to collect the two humans and bring them to the loft because this is apparently important, and FYI I’m pretty sure Stiles and Jackson and even Boyd mentioned your names and Derek agreed to include you with a lot of convincing.” Erica said.

Lydia sighed. “Come on then.” She said, putting both feet on the ground and finishing off her cup of coffee.

“What? No, I’m not going.” Allison said.

“Allison-”

“I don’t want to be there.” She said.

“Are you seriously that upset that Scott’s sticking it to Isaac?” Erica asked and Allison gave her a foul look.

“I’m not catatonic; I can take care of myself. I just don’t want to go.”

“Well, I’m going, because if something’s going on in this town then I think I should probably find out first hand.” Lydia said, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Allison shook her head and pursed her lips. “Fine, but don’t expect me to like it.”

“It’s okay honey, we never like it.” Erica said, putting a hand on her shoulder and Allison juts gave her a strange look.

“What?”

“Just trying to speak your language sister.”

“Well don’t.” Allison said, getting up to follow her out.

Erica shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

 

 

“So did Derek say why he was calling this meeting or did he just make his usual demands?” Scott asked, sitting on Isaac’s bed as he watched him find a shirt.

“He demanded.” Isaac said, grabbing a plain white tee and pulling it over his head.

“Why am I not surprised?” Scott muttered.

Isaac smiled, walking over to stand in front of him, putting his hands on his shoulders. Scott let his hands take Isaac by the waist and pulled him in closer.

“He has something to say so it’s got to be important.” Isaac said.

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Isaac leant down to kiss him and Scott’s grip grew tighter. Isaac smiled under his lips and allowed Scott’s tongue to slip behind his teeth and slide along his own. His body stirred and he started to laugh.

“Scott… we only just had this problem… we’ve got to go or we’ll be late.” He mumbled, letting Scott lie back as he knelt over him on the bed.

“So let’s make him wait.” Scott growled, grabbing Isaac’s thighs and holding him down, his body pressed tightly into him.

Isaac groaned against Scott’s lips, his eyes rolling shut at the senses that were engulfing him but he couldn’t ignore his instinct to obey his alpha so he tore his lips away.

“I can't.” He sighed.

“You don’t have to listen to him you know.” Scott sighed.

“I kind of do, Scott he’s my alpha.” He said.

“He doesn’t have to be.” He muttered and Isaac gave him a confused look.

“We – we should go.” He said, standing up and taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

“I’m just saying that you can choose not to be a part of his pack if you want.” Scott said.

“It’s not that easy, you don’t feel the pull that I do and besides, I like being a part of Derek’s pack.” He shrugged and Scott sighed.

“Alright, I’m just saying.” He stood up and straightened his hair out.

“Come on, let’s get to the house.”

“Why doesn’t he just do it here instead of making us haul ass out to the woods?” He said, taking Isaac’s hand and letting him pull him out of his room.

“It’s more secluded I guess.” He shrugged.

“What does that matter?”

“Why don’t you ask him these questions instead of interrogating me? Hell, ask Stiles, he’s probably got more of an insight into Derek’s mind than anyone else.”

“True, sorry.” He said with a smile. “You want to ride on the bike?”

Isaac shook his head. “Nah.”

“You want to run don’t you?”

“It’s not that far.”

“Are you kidding? It’s miles away.”

Isaac grinned. “You know this reluctance to do something physical might explain why you’re getting out of shape.” He raised his eyebrows a few times before setting off and Scott just scoffed at him.

“Seriously? I am not – would you slow down!” He yelled after him, following him on foot and determined to catch him so that he could beat him up a little.

 

 

Isaac was right; it wasn’t that far, not with their werewolf speed and stamina. They managed to get there before Erica anyway, which was good, that way they didn’t have to deal with her snide comments.

Jackson and Boyd sat on the old porch while Derek had Stiles pinned to the side of his car, speaking in hushed tones. When he saw Isaac and Scott show up he pulled himself away to greet them.

“You’re late.” He said.

“Erica’s not here either.” Scott said.

“No, she’s out collecting Allison and Lydia.” Scott winced a little and Isaac reached out to take his hand comfortingly.

“Right.” He mumbled. “Do you want to tell us what’s going on then?”

“Not without Erica.” He said.

“Trust me dude, I couldn’t persuade him to tell me so don’t think you’ll be able to.” Stiles said with a grin and Derek shot him a glare. “I know, I know, shut up Stiles.”

“You’re learning.” Derek said.

“I feel like we’re interrupting a moment so we’re just going to wait up here.” Isaac said, dragging Scott away from more confrontation with Derek and up to the porch with the others.

“So none of you have any idea what’s going on here?” Scott asked and they shook their heads.

“Something’s definitely up, he seems pretty tense.” Jackson said and they looked over to Derek, who was back to talking quietly with Stiles.

“Oh yeah, he looks really stressed out.” Scott said sarcastically.

Jackson narrowed his eyes. “Use your nose wise-ass, he’s got that nervous stench on him. It makes me edgy.”

“I hate to do it, but I’m going to agree with him.” Boyd said.

“Please don’t tell me something is killing the townspeople again.” Isaac groaned.

“Wouldn’t we know if that were happening?” Jackson asked.

“Did _you_ know that people were dropping into a coma and slowly dying because they’d been seduced by a giant cat?” Boyd asked and Jackson just started up at him.

“I’m going to go with him on that one.” Isaac said.

Their ears perked up as they heard footsteps approaching. Scott’s face dropped and his cheeks almost seemed to flush when Allison, Lydia and Erica walked into the clearing around the old Hale house.

Isaac almost felt guilty when Scott gripped his hand tighter rather than letting it go but the look on his face was more one of pride than anything.

“So, did we miss anything?” Erica asked as she bobbed over and sat on the hood of Derek’s Camaro, making him scowl and Stiles stifle a smile.

She really did go the extra mile to annoy him.

“No.” He growled, grabbing her by the arm and shoving her off.

“Hey! Easy would you?” She said.

One more growl from him and she was silent. She may like to push his buttons, especially when it came to Stiles, but she knew her place.

“Alright listen up. I know you’re all less than thrilled to be here but if something comes up that’s going to affect all of us then you need to know it.” He said and everyone walked a little closer, ready to hear what he had to say.

“Is it really going to affect the two of us?” Allison said, nodding to Lydia who looked more than out of place in her attire.

Derek gave her a dark look. “If you want to leave be my guest, I can't dictate what _you_ do.”

She let out a huff and folded her arms but didn’t move. Lydia was right; she was probably better off knowing it than not.

“That’s only his semi-human pack mates.” The all turned to see Peter walking out from behind the house with a docile smirk on his face.

“What the hell is _he_ doing here?” Jackson asked harshly.

“ _How_ the hell does he sneak up on us like that?” Isaac whispered to Scott.

“I agree, what _is_ he doing here?” Lydia said, looking slightly nervous as Peter walked closer to her.

“It’s been so long, hasn’t it?” He asked and she stared him down, attempting to be cool but her bottom lip twitched slightly out of place.

“Not long enough.” She said.

“Peter, stop terrorising her. You’ve done enough of that.” Derek growled and Peter shrugged, walking through their little circle to lean on the Camaro.

When he saw the murderous glare in Derek’s eyes he stood up and gave him a little shrug.

“No one going to answer me?” Jackson asked.

“I’m here because I can help.” Peter answered.

“Help with what exactly?” Boyd asked Derek and the rest of them turned their attention from Peter to await his answer.

He let out a sigh. “There’s a new alpha in town.”

Everyone was silent and most mouths had dropped, Allison and Lydia exchanged a glance and Scott and Isaac looked to one another with questioning eyes. Unsurprisingly, Stiles was the first to speak up.

“There’s what? Do you mean like Peter was back when he was a psychotic murderer –”

“Thank you.” Peter chimed in.

“You’re welcome.” Stiles said sarcastically. “Or do you mean a regular… murderous alpha?”

“Is there no in between?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, Derek.” Stiles retorted.

“Enough, we don’t know much, just that she’s here in Beacon Hills with a pack of her own, four of them in total.” Derek answered.

“She?” Isaac asked.

“Yes, and alpha she-wolf and three betas. I’ve been tracking them and they seemed to have settled not far from here.” Peter said.

“What like in the woods or something?” Stiles asked and Peter rolled his eyes.

“No, in an apartment block about twenty minutes east of here.” He said.

“Well why here? Why Beacon Hills?” Erica asked.

“We don’t know, but it’s almost the full moon and we want to make contact so that they know we’re here.” Derek said.

“Why would we want them to know we’re here?” Scott asked.

“Because we don’t want them starting a territory war. We don’t know how friendly they are or why they’re here so instead of taking them by surprise I think it would be best that we try to make contact.” Derek said.

“Yes, and it will all be such a friendly occasion.” Peter mocked.

Derek shot him a look and Isaac spoke up. “There’s four of them and seven of us, is there any real threat?”

“Three of them were born like this, that makes them stronger.” Peter said.

“How can you tell?” Scott said.

“Believe me Scott, I’ve been around long enough to tell.”

“If you’ve been tracking them then maybe they already know that there are wolves here. Wouldn’t they be able to smell you?” Boyd asked.

“Not always, and I don’t need to explain my methods to you.” He said and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

Before he had the chance to say anything sarcastic Derek stopped him. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from dealing with other packs in the past it’s to never underestimate them. The last thing we want is a rivalry.” No one had any arguments for that, mostly they just wanted nothing to do with them. “This isn’t me asking, this is me telling. Peter already alerted them to our presence.” He glared over him.

Peter gave him a slight grin, clearly acting without first getting Derek’s approval.

“The full moon is in two night’s time so the message was to meet one night before it. The last thing we need is something to go wrong the one night of the month that we could do some serious damage.” Derek said.

“So you want us all there to meet a possibly savage wolf pack?” Isaac asked.

“No, just two of you, to even out the playing field.” They looked slightly confused and he rolled his eyes. “I can't control him and I know he’ll be there.” He pointed to Peter.

“I’ll go.” Boyd offered.

“He said even the playing field not scare the shit out of them.” Jackson snickered.

Boyd just turned slowly to look at him. “Better than knowing they could kick your ass.”

“I’ll go, let me get a look at this she-wolf.” Erica said.

“Okay, I think if you’re going to go we need someone slightly less sarcastic to go with you. Between you and Peter you won't make a great first impression.” Stiles scoffed.

“Why don’t we send you; that’ll really make us look weak.” She said.

“We’re trying to tone _down_ the sarcasm.” He said.

“Well what about Isaac?” Jackson said.

“Why would you suggest me?”

“Because you’re a little bitch and you’ll keep your mouth shut if you need to.” Jackson said.

Isaac let out a growl and Peter clapped loudly. “So it’s settled then, Derek, Erica, Isaac and I will meet them tomorrow night to… discuss things.” He said.

“We will be discussing things.” Derek said through gritted teeth.

“I suppose it will have to start that way.” Peter said.

Derek turned swiftly and grabbed Peter by the shirt, slamming him into the hood of his precious Camaro. “If you make one move against them without my say so I’m going to slash your throat again and tear you apart.” He snarled. “ _You will not put my pack in danger_.” His eyes flashed red and Peter just smiled up at him.

“Cross my heart.” He said.

“Derek, calm down.” Stiles said.

Derek threw Peter into the ground and stepped past him. “Meet me here tomorrow night and we’ll set off from there.”

“Wait, don’t I get a say in this?” Isaac asked.

“You’ll be fine.” Derek said.

“Yeah, you’re not giving me much confidence there.”

“Why is this something that we needed to know?” Allison asked.

“A new pack means new dynamics. A lone wolf is one thing but this is another pack, that makes this a whole lot bigger. Plus I don’t know if your father wants to know but maybe he should.” Derek said.

“Oh I’m sure this new pack won't be opposed to us telling a werewolf hunter that they’re in town.” Peter said, dusting himself off.

“My dad is retired. He doesn’t want to know about this stuff anymore.” She said.

“So maybe it’s better that _you_ know.” Derek said and Allison gave him a strange look that never got answered.

“You think this could turn ugly, that’s why you want us to know.” Lydia said.

“I don’t want anyone caught up in this if it turns out to be that way but no, I don’t expect it to end up like that.”

Lydia nodded with a sigh.

There wasn’t much more that needed to be said. Some of them had a few questions and Derek answered as best he could, Isaac mostly stayed quiet. He really didn’t want to have to go with the others to meet this new pack. In fact, the idea of it made him nervous. In his experience, all encounters with other people in the supernatural community haven’t run so smoothly.

This was the last thing he wanted.

When they finally dispersed he wasn’t really in the mood to run, instead walking in silence with Scott through the forest trees. He knew that he was watching him intently but he didn’t really want to talk about it, not yet at least, and Scott didn’t say anything. He would wait until Isaac said something before talking to him about it.

When they emerged from the trees he sighed. “You want to go to your place? I don’t really feel like being in the loft tonight.”

“Yeah, sure.” Scott said. “We’ll just go pick up the bike and head on over.”

Stiles and Derek were already at the loft when they back but they didn’t go up to see them, instead they just made their way back to Scott’s place.

When they pulled into the drive Melissa was just getting out of her car. “Hey boys, you driving safely?” She asked.

“Yeah mom.” Scott rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry, werewolf or not your mom is going to worry.” She walked over to kiss his head. She looked up at Isaac who had managed to force a smile. “About you too, god knows, someone needs to.”

“ _Mom_ …” Scott said.

“I’m sorry that I worry but I’m not sorry if I embarrass you, that you’re just going to have to suffer through.” She said.

He rolled his eyes and they unlocked the front door to head inside. Melissa asked if either of them wanted dinner but they had both lost their appetites for food, at least for the time being.

They walked up the stairs and into Scott’s bedroom where they both collapsed on the bed. Isaac sighed and Scott rolled onto his side, resting his hand on Isaac’s stomach gently.

“Why can't everything just be simple?” He said.

Scott shrugged. “Was it ever going to be for us?”

“I guess not. I don’t know what I expected when Derek offered to turn me. I probably should have seen this coming huh?”

“Yeah, probably.” Isaac turned his head towards Scott and rolled his eyes.

“Okay, laugh all you want. You’re not the one who might get ripped to shreds tomorrow night.”

“Alright, firstly, that’s not going to happen. Secondly, even if they did turn on you, I wouldn’t let them hurt you.” He said, craning his neck to peck Isaac on the lips.

“Like you could compete with an alpha.” He grabbed Scott’s arm and pulled him down with him.

“Shut up, I could try.” Scott said, kissing him again as he crawled closer and swung his leg over Isaac’s hips.

When Scott was kissing him like that he knew that he couldn’t stay worried, he couldn’t really focus on anything other than Scott’s tongue licking the underside of his top lip. He let out a contented sound and Scott took that as an invitation to explore his mouth further as he let his weight press down on him.

The heat from his body had Isaac tugging at Scott’s shirt to try and get him out of it. As soon as it was over his head he was reaching for Isaac’s too, both of them being strewn across the floor.

Scott’s lips made their way to Isaac’s neck and by the sounds of it they were well received. He kissed and sucked his way slowly down over his chest, hovering over his nipple and teasing it with his flat tongue, making Isaac groan, reaching for the back of Scott’s head.

“Why is it that you make me so easy?” He said softly. Scott just smiled before he paused and looked up and into his eyes. “What?” Isaac asked.

“I just… I mean… why don’t we…” He said, his words getting lost in translation.

Isaac was about to ask him what he meant when all of a sudden he realised it. “You want to? I mean I thought you wanted to wait…”

“Well, we have waited, maybe now is the right time.” Scott shrugged and Isaac nodded, wetting his bottom lip with his tongue.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Scott said as Isaac pulled him in for a long hard kiss that was leading to so much more.


	9. Chapter Nine

“Tell me again why we’re meeting them by your old burned out house?” Erica asked as the four of them walked towards the old Hale house.

Isaac’s stomach had been turning all day in anticipation. He really wished that Derek had told them over a week ago about this new pack, it all seemed to be happening faster than he could think it through. At least thoughts of this were keeping his mind occupied on something – anything – other than what he knew was swimming around in his brain.

“It’s not like you can miss the place, it sort of sticks out.” Peter said.

“He’s right; they’ll know it when they see it. No surprises.” Derek said.

“Are you sure they even got your message?” She asked Peter.

“Well, it would have been hard for them not to.”

“Please don’t tell me you put a spiral on their door or something.” She said.

“Obviously not, I spoke to one of the betas. I managed to catch her alone.” He said with a hint of deviousness in his voice and Derek didn’t like it.

“I know I’m not your alpha but sometimes I wish you would think before you just went ahead and did things.” Derek growled.

“What? She didn’t seem too worried about it.”

“You’re being awfully quiet.” Erica said to Isaac, slowing her pace to walk beside him.

He shrugged. “There’s no point in bickering with you. Isn’t that why I’m here? To keep quiet?”

“No, you just seem to be neutral on most things and unlike the rest of us you almost never question Derek. I thought that might be useful.” She said.

“You should have let Boyd come instead of you.” He said.

“Why?” she narrowed her eyes.

“He’s pretty similar to me in those respects don’t you think?”

“Yeah but he looks like he could take someone’s head off in one swipe.” She said.

“I guess that’s true.”

“You still didn’t really answer my question. Why are you so quiet? You’re not fighting with Scott are you?” She sounded less than thrilled about talking to him about it and he scoffed.

“No we’re not fighting… definitely not fighting.” He said.

“Right, well I don’t think I want to know what that means.” She said.

“You seem to want to know all about it when it comes to Stiles.” He turned his head slightly and she smirked over at him.

“Well that’s something else entirely.”

“Would both of you shut up back there?” Derek snapped and the two of them exchanged grins.

They both knew that Erica talking about Stiles made Derek instantly angry and usually it was amusing. It was still amusing as they walked through the forest but making him angry at this moment was probably not the smartest thing they could do.

They reached the Hale house before the other pack and Isaac was starting to feel uneasy about it.

“I don’t know why we couldn’t have the rest of the pack here.” He said.

“Do you want them to think this was an ambush?” Peter said.

“Do you?”

Peter just smiled.

“What we want is for them to feel like we’re on even terms, showing up with the rest of the pack does seem like we’re planning something.” Derek said.

“They’re probably coming out here ready for a fight though.” Erica said, folding her arms.

“It’s not like we can expect anything else. I don’t trust them either.” Isaac said. They might not even show up at all.” He muttered.

“You didn’t think we’d turn down your invitation did you?” They all spun around to face the tree line as a young woman emerged.

Following close behind her were the other three members of her pack. Derek stepped ahead of his pack members, who all stood cautiously at his flank.

“We were hoping you’d show up.” Derek said.

“I suppose we’re due for some introductions?” The alpha asked, flashing her red eyes at Derek in the subtle glow of the twilight.

He returned her gesture and she gave him a small nod, looking him up and down.

“My name is Derek Hale, this is Peter, Isaac and Erica.” He said, motioning to them with his head.

“Are they all you have or are our even numbers just for my benefit?” she asked.

“There are three others.” He replied.

“Six if you include his human brood.” Peter said and Derek shot him an ‘I will kill you if you breathe wrong’ glare.

“A wolf that runs with humans, I assume they all carry some sort of emotional significance.” She said.

“Well…” Peter started but Derek cut him off with a growl.

“Something like that.” He answered.

She just gave him a sly smile. “I suppose that’ll do. I’m Katherine. That’s Daisy, Aiden and Ethan.”

“What’s your business in Beacon Hills?” Derek said.

“I like that you’re straight to the point.” She said with a smile.

She was quite beautiful. She had wavy brown hair that stopped just past her shoulders and when she wasn’t bearing her red alpha eyes they were a deep chocolate colour. Her lips were painted crimson not dissimilar to Erica’s and she stood at a similar height to Derek, granted she was wearing shoes that added a few extra inches.

“This town has been my home for many years, I don’t want anyone to come in expecting that they can take what they want from it.” He said.

“Yes, I’ve heard of the packs that used to live here, not for a while though we thought. I can see that you have two young members behind you so I’d say you’re quite a fresh group.” Katherine said with a look to Isaac and Erica.

“Most of them, yes.”

“We are the same. Daisy is our youngest, only a few months.” She was a young looking girl, dressed only in a light summer dress despite the harsh chill of the wind, her dirty blonde hair pulled back in a braid. “These two we poached from a rival pack back in Wyoming.” She pointed to Aiden and Ethan, clearly twins.

“You’ve come a fair way for a small town.”

“We tend to roam; could be here a few weeks, could be a few months. No reason in particular.” Katherine said.

“We don’t want any trouble.” Ethan said out of turn and Katherine gave him a look that shut him down in an instant.

“And we’re not looking for it. I’m not saying that you can't stay, I’m saying that I don’t want to have to force you to leave.” Derek said.

“Well he’s right.” She looked back to Ethan before setting her sights on Derek. “We don’t want trouble from you. We’re not that kind of pack.” She said. “We’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of ours.”

Isaac looked over to Erica who gave him a shrug in return.

“Then we understand each other.” Derek said.

Katherine smiled. “Perfectly.”

“Are you sure your newbie can control herself come the full moon?” Peter asked.

She turned to him and walked a little closer, Derek stepped aside, almost wishing that she would tear him a new one. “I see you aren’t afraid to defy your alpha’s authority.”

Peter let out a laugh. “Oh he’s not my alpha, he’s my nephew. In fact, I used to _be_ the alpha before the throat slashing incident.”

She turned her head to look at Derek. “Strange choice to bring to a little meet and greet don’t you think?”

“He would have been here whether it was behind me or hidden from sight. This is easier.” He said.

She laughed. “Well, if anything else comes up we’ll be sure to send you a line. It was nice meeting you Derek.” Without turning her back until she reached the tree line, she backed off with the others until they were out of sight.

“Well that was less than eventful.” Erica rolled her eyes. “Those twins were kind of hot though.”

All three of the others turned to stare at her and she shrugged.

“What? They were.”

“I have to agree with her…” They all raised their eyebrows at Peter. “On the lack of eventfulness that tonight brought with it. How easily it could have-”

“If you do one single thing to bring about a rivalry between our packs then I will-”

“You’re all threat Derek, the only throat I’ve ever seen you rip out is mine.”

“Then you should know that I have no hesitation in doing it again.” He said through gritted teeth.

Peter gave him a ‘fair enough’ face and they began the walk back to the road.

“I don’t want any of you engaging with them for any length of time without talking to me. We may have exchanged friendly words but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to keep them. We just have to see how the full moon changes things.” Derek said.

“Of course.” Erica rolled her eyes.

Isaac didn’t say much and Derek had noticed it too. He didn’t say anything about it but Isaac was never normally _this_ quiet. They didn’t take long to reach the road where Derek had parked the Camaro. He had driven there alone, the others all meeting him on foot.

“Does anyone need a ride?” He asked.

“Well if you’re offering…” Peter started.

“ _Not_ you.” Derek said.

“Right, I suppose I will see you the next time we encounter trouble.” He grinned and Derek just stared him down until he was a decent distance away from them, walking north along the road.

“Erica?” He asked.

“So long as that psycho’s gone then no, I’m just going to take a walk back home.” She said.

She began walking in the opposite direction to Peter and Derek turned his attention to Isaac.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Maybe you should pick her up though.” He looked back at Erica. “I mean seeing as you don’t trust this pack and all.”

“I don’t want to force her into the car.” Derek shrugged and Isaac sighed.

“Erica! Get back here.” He yelled.

She turned around with a hand on her hip. “I don’t need a lift.”

“Get in.” Derek said, already climbing in the driver’s side door.

“Fine,” she said, storming back. “But I call shot gun.”

 

They dropped her off at her place, not too far from the loft. She didn’t thank Derek for the ride. Isaac climbed into the front seat from his place in the back and Derek pulled out of the drive and back onto the road.

“Did you want to go to Scott’s?” He asked.

Isaac shook his head. “No… I think I’ll just crash at – at your place.”

“Were you going to call it home or something like that?” Derek asked.

“Maybe, habit I guess.” He mumbled.

“ _Is_ it your home?”

“Maybe, I don’t know, I haven’t really decided yet.”

“Good answer.”

They drove in silence the rest of the way and when they got to the loft each of them disappeared into their respectful bedrooms for a while.

“So how’d it all go?” Stiles asked and Derek raised an eyebrow at him.

“How is it that I missed your heap of junk jeep outside?”

“Why, did I scare you?” Stiles asked hopefully.

“Just because I didn’t see the jeep doesn’t mean I didn’t smell you.”

“Right… so go on, tell me.” Derek gave him the basic run-down of the events of the night and his reaction was the same as the others; basically disappointment.

“Why do you all seem to be looking for a fight?” He asked, taking off his shoes and belt.

“We’re not, it just seems like you worried for nothing. You big worry-wolf.”

Derek narrowed his eyes. “You know if I had a choice between that and the other one that you call me, I would actually beg you for the other one.”

“Aw, it’s alright, you’re still my sour wolf.” Stiles teased.

Derek shook his head. “Did you pick a movie then?”

“I was waiting for you. You always hate the ones I pick anyway.” Stiles said, making room for Derek to snuggle in beside him.

Not that Derek snuggles.

“That’s because you always pick things that annoy me.”

“How is Wolf Creek annoying?”

“You always pick things you can make a joke out of.”

“That’s because it’s funny.”

“No Stiles, it’s not.”

“Oh come on, I can see that smile.” He poked Derek in the belly.

His annoyance was off the charts but somehow he was inches away from laughing at just how frustrating Stiles could be. He was right, the smile was teasing his lips and it took all of his strength not to show off a large toothy grin.

“One of these days-”

“Yeah, yeah, just pick something why don’t you.” Stiles said, poking him again. “Ooh, what about Moon? _Ouch!_ ” He yelped as Derek smacked him in the chest.

 

Hours later and they had finished a movie, one completely unrelated to anything wolf-like, and Stiles was wandering downstairs for a glass of water. When he hit the last few steps he saw Isaac sitting in the kitchen just sort of staring into a glass.

He walked over to him and sat in the chair beside him. He looked at him for a long moment with no response before Isaac finally said anything.

“Hey Stiles can I ask you a question?” He said.

“Uh, yeah sure, what’s up?”

“You and Derek…” He started cautiously. “When you – I mean – you guys… uh…” He twisted his hand around in mid-air, trying to get his words out but they just didn’t seem to want to fall from his lips. “When the two of you-”

“Are you… trying to ask me about my sex life?” Stiles asked.

“Kind of, yeah.” Isaac said quietly.

“Me? You’re asking me? The guy who was king of the virgins like four months ago?”

“Yes, you.”

“Well okay then, just so we’re both clear.”

“You and Derek slept together before you really got together right?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah. I wouldn’t really call it sleeping together though, it was more he would come over and then leave right after.” Stiles nodded to himself.

“Well that worked for you right?”

“Seems to have yeah. Why? Are you worried that it’s not going to work out that way for you and Scott? I guess some people would think that we rushed into things by – _you know_ – before we had an actual relationship but isn’t that how most things start? You get a little cosier and then-”

“I’m not worried about that, actually it’s kind of the other way around…” He said, looking up as Stiles pieced things together for himself.

“What? I thought the two of you had been going at it since like, since I was attacked. I heard about the hospital hand-job by the way. Nice to know that you were so worried you’d take some time out to jerk off, you jerk off.” Stiles said, slightly bitterly but Isaac smiled at his attempt at making him laugh.

“You had just pulled through, it was more of a … celebratory… hand-job.” He said.

“Well anyway, haven’t you guys been together since then?”

“Yes… but not – I mean we haven’t done… that.” He said and Stiles’ eyes grew wide.

“Oh… _oh_.” He said.

As he tried to think of something to say back to him Isaac couldn’t help thinking back to the night before.

 

_“Well, we have waited, maybe now is the right time.” Scott said._

_“Yeah?” Isaac had asked._

_“Yeah.”_

_Then he had kissed him, eager and hungry. His heart pounded frantically because he had been waiting for Scott to say those words for months._

_They stripped one another down until there was nothing left to take off and continued their frenzied assault on one another until the crucible moment came._

_Scott pulled his lips away, looking down at Isaac and panting._

_“Do you… I mean do you want to or do you want me to…” He asked and it took Isaac a minute to make his brain function and understand what he was saying._

_“Oh… uh, you – you can if you want.”_

_“Are you sure?” He asked._

_“Yeah, no, totally sure.” He nodded._

_“Okay.” He moved off him and to the drawer by his bed, taking out a condom before turning back. “Uh… are we going to, I mean, do we have to…”_

_Isaac knew what he was trying to ask and he didn’t really know what to say. “Well I guess you’ll… I mean I could…” He swallowed, not knowing exactly how they were going to do it._

_Scott was kneeling between his legs, staring down at him as if he was waiting for Isaac to give him further guidance. He wasn’t a virgin but this was a little different to being with Allison and as nervous as he was it felt like his first time._

_“I’ll – I’ll just…” Isaac said, rolling onto his stomach and closing his eyes tightly, the awkwardness in the air not lost on him._

_Scott sighed, “Sorry, I just – It’s too late now.” He rolled onto his back and Isaac waited for a while before turning to face him._

_“It’s okay, I’m a little worried about tomorrow anyway so maybe we should just… sleep.”_

_“Yeah, that sounds good.” Scott turned his back to Isaac and waited for him to cuddle up into him._

_Neither of them said another word despite being awake for hours after._

 

“Seriously? You still haven’t – like at all?” Stiles asked.

“How is there a half way for that? No, not at all.” He said.

Stiles just bobbed his head a bit. “You’ve already said that you love him and stuff haven’t you? I know I’ve heard you say that.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You can't say I love you before sex, it’s just like, the rules or something.”

“Since when are you the expert?” Isaac raised an eyebrow.

“Since I just had sex like a half hour ago.”

“Point taken.” There was a silence between them for a moment before Isaac sighed. “Was it awkward for you at all?”

Stiles knew the answer that Isaac was looking for but he had been around the block enough to know that lying to a werewolf didn’t do anyone any favours. “Not really.” He said, much to Isaac’s disappointment. “That could just be because we didn’t wait for anything, it kind of just… happened.”

“Yeah… well it’s not like that’ll work for me.” He sighed.

“Listen Isaac, I have no answers, for anything. I mean seriously I should not be giving you advice and you’re clearly just as stupid as I am for coming to me but all I’m going to say is that it doesn’t have to be this hard. Just do it.” He said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I am right, and you know why?”

“Because you just had sex like a half hour ago?” He said, mocking him slightly.

“No, I’m right because you’ll realise once you’ve done it that you were worrying about it for nothing.” Stiles said. “I mean I know you’ve done it before but this is different because… well… it’s different.”

“Stiles…” He looked up at him and shook his head. “I’m a virgin.”

Stiles almost choked on air and just gave him an incredulous stare. “What? No, no you’re not.”

“Yeah, I am. I’m not saying I’ve never hooked up with anyone – because I most definitely have – but I’ve never done _that_.” He shrugged. “Never really had anyone that I wanted to do it with before.”

“I don’t understand that because I was pretty much not caring about who it was I just wanted to do it.” Stiles said and Isaac laughed.

“You know what Stiles? That did make me feel better.”

“Yeah, yeah laugh it up.” He said, hopping down off his stool before heading to the sink to fill a glass with water. “I’ll see you tomorrow for school.” He said.

“Night Stiles.”

He waved a hand in response and despite what you would think about getting advice from Stiles it was true, he did feel better, slightly. He wasn’t going to let one little hiccup stop him and Scott from being together, no way in hell.

 

Stiles headed up the stairs and into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. “Well, I just had a pretty in depth conversation with Isaac about-”

“I know Stiles, I heard you.” Derek said, lying under the sheets with a hand behind his head and his eyes closed.

“You – you what? Were you spying on me Derek?” He said with a smile.

“It wouldn’t be hard, you speak like everyone around you is half deaf.” He grumbled.

“Don’t pretend you want to go to sleep, I know you’re nocturnal.”

Derek’s eyes shot open. “Really? Really Stiles?”

He grinned, putting his glass down and climbing in beside him. “What? What did I say?”

“You know one of these days-”

“Yeah, I know, now shut up and kiss me.” And that’s exactly what he did.


	10. Chapter Ten

The next day was the full moon. It would be rising in the sky just before the sun had finished setting and they were all on alert. Unfortunately that meant that they would be alert at school.

Isaac and Boyd walked slowly up the steps as he filled him in on the events of the night before.

“I thought Erica would have told you.” Isaac said.

“Yeah she did, but you know what she’s like. The things she said were the things that I really didn’t need to know.” He smiled.

“She said the two guys were hot didn’t she?”

“Sort of, it was more how hot it would be if – you know what I don’t even want to repeat it.” He chuckled.

“She’s interesting anyway.”

“You’re not wrong, so these guys were twins?” Boyd asked.

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, identical. The other one was sort of smaller; she can’t have been much older than us. You see this is where Erica would ask if she was cute or not.”

“Don’t expect me to do that.” Isaac laughed. “So what do you think? Do they look like a threat?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, they didn’t seem like they wanted to cause trouble but I don’t think I trust them. No, I definitely don’t trust them.”

“Fair call.” Boyd said.

“So what have you got first up?”

“Study hall.”

“Lucky you.”

“Not really, I’d rather have something actually productive to do.” Isaac looked at him in confusion and Boyd shrugged. “Erica has it at the same time.”

“Say no more. You guys are pretty good friends-”

“How many more people am I going to have to convince that she’s just my best friend?” He asked.

“Alright, sorry. Just trying to make-” He stopped mid-sentence as his nose tingled with a familiar scent.

“Isaac? You alright?” Boyd asked, stopping beside him.

“It’s them, they’re here.” He whispered, looking around trying to find them.

“Who? The other pack?” Boyd asked and Isaac nodded. “There’s Scott.”

Isaac’s eyes darted to Scott, inside at his locker and they began walking towards him, Isaac searching for the newcomers. Scott saw them as they stormed closer and knew that something was going on.

“Hey… is everything okay?” He asked.

“He thinks that new pack is here.” Boyd said.

“I don’t think, I know. Can't you smell that?”

“Actually I thought it was just you guys but now that you mention it…” Scott said.

“There.” Isaac whispered as he thought he saw one of the twins walk past at the end of the hall.

He headed off quickly, following the person he had just seen and Scott slammed his locker shut. “Isaac? _Isaac_!” He hissed and Boyd followed, looking around to see if he could sense who Isaac was looking for.

He knew someone was there but just not where they were.

They stopped just outside the front office and followed Isaac’s gaze through the shuttered windows. Inside were two six foot tall boys, identical in looks and definitely one of them.

“So that’s them huh?” Boyd said under his breath for only the other two to hear.

Isaac nodded.

As they watched them talking to one of the office aids a short blonde girl opened the door and headed out. Isaac recognised her as Daisy, the third beta. He nudged Scott in her direction and the three of them turned to look at her.

As if feeling their stares she looked up with big doe eyes, staring blankly as she passed them by.

“Well she looked a little less dangerous than those two.” Boyd said.

“What are they doing here?” Scott asked.

Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

“Isaac, don’t, you know what Derek said.” Boyd hissed but he was already stepping away from the wall in the direction of the office.

He only got three steps because in his haste he hadn’t seen the girl walking in from the other direction. He walked square into her and damn near stole her balance. She would have taken a tumble if he hadn’t caught her by the arm.

“Crap, sorry.” He mumbled.

“No, no, it’s okay – _Isaac_?” Until then he hadn’t really paid much attention to her face but the sound of her voice saying his name stirred something familiar inside him. “Isaac Lahey?” She looked up with a warm grin and big blue eyes, ones that he could never forget.

“Cassie?” He saihod, returning her smile as she looped her arms around his neck.

Boyd and Scott just looked at one another in confusion as the girl named Cassie just laughed, pulling out of their embrace to put her arms on his shoulders and look up at him.

“God, you look so different!” She said, beaming.

“You look, mostly the same.” He said.

“Hey, it’s been three years I should look slightly better don’t you think?”

“I thought you went off to college.” He said.

“I did, I’m actually only back to do some research.” She said.

“At Beacon Hills High?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Shut up.” She laughed.

“I’m going to head to class, the bell’s about to go.” Boyd said and Scott nodded, walking over to Isaac and standing by his side, almost hoping to break up the little reunion.

“We have to catch up sometime, I’m only here for a week but I’ll be back after thanksgiving when I finally find a place to stay long term.” She said.

“Yeah, yeah that would be great.” Isaac said as Scott ‘accidentally on purpose’ nudged him with his elbow. “Oh, Cassie, this is my friend Scott, Scott this is Cassie.”

“Hi Scott.” She said, looking at him for a second before turning back to Isaac.

“So how do you know each other?” Scott asked.

Isaac went to say something but Cassie beat him to it. “Isaac used to live with my foster family way back, how old were you? Eleven?”

“Uh… yeah, about that.”

“You lived in a foster home?” Scott asked.

“Oh, crap! I’m sorry, I just assumed he knew about that.” Cassie said, looking a little guilty.

“It’s okay, it’s not that big a deal, it was only a couple of months anyway.” Isaac shrugged but he knew Scott would ask him about it later.

“Still, it was enough.” She gave him a warm smile. “Anyway, I better get going, I just came to see one of my old teachers. I’ve got an appointment at the real estate place.”

“Sure, it was great to see you.” Isaac said.

“You too, I’ll give you a call if you want to go out to coffee or something.”

“Yeah okay.” He said and she gave him a little wave, turning on her heels and walking away, glancing back once with her lips pulled into a smile.

He just stared after her for a while until Scott coughed beside him. Isaac turned to look at him.

“Never heard of her before.” He said.

“I haven’t told anyone about her before.” Isaac shrugged.

Scott felt a little stab of jealousy. “Why not?”

“I don’t know, never really came up. Look, I’m sorry I never told you about the whole foster family thing. It wasn’t for long and it was just after my mom left so things were a bit… out of it.” Scott shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Come on, let’s just get to class.”

He gave him a nudge with his hip and Scott just shook his head. After a few seconds he smirked and snorted a little.

“You were staring at her ass.” He muttered.

Isaac scoffed. “Was not.”

 

During his classes that day, despite his vow to stay focussed, Scott couldn’t help thinking about Isaac and his old friend, if that was really all she was. The worst part was that he was annoyed at actually feeling jealous of someone that he knew Isaac wasn’t interested in.

Mostly knew. _Damn it_.

He didn’t like that feeling of jealousy; he felt it enough when he was with Allison and he didn’t much want to feel it again. There was just something about the way Isaac introduced him as ‘my friend Scott’ that had him thinking.

 _Is that how he feels because I haven’t told my mom? Like I’m trying to keep a secret?_ He thought about it and sighed, knowing that he probably didn’t even think about it but it must be how it feels to know that Scott still hasn’t told his mom, and he didn’t like it.

It made him feel strange, almost upset, and he knew that was completely irrational because Isaac loved him, really and truly loved him.

So he didn’t get much productive work done that day.  He didn’t much think about the arrival of the new pack to their school either; somehow it didn’t seem quite as important. He knew that it should be but he just couldn’t focus on it.

Isaac probably was, he probably spent his free period searching for them on the grounds. Or he was thinking of that girl. Scott scolded himself for being so jealous; he didn’t even know why it was hitting him like this. Maybe it was the awkwardness of the other night. He didn’t want it to be that way; he had wanted it to go much better than that.

 _Well I’m not just going to sit around and wait for it to magically happen_ , he thought to himself. When he heard the final bell he rushed out of class, much to the annoyance of Stiles who had been trying to talk to him for the whole last period.

 

 

_Isaac –_

 

I hadn’t seen the twins much all day and despite my best efforts to track them or the girl down, Boyd kept me in check and sort of refused to let me out of his sight. It was actually really annoying.

“You can just tell Derek when you get back there, don’t do anything stupid.” He said as we walked out after the final bell.

I shook my head. “What did you think I was going to do?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I don’t think you should do it.” He said.

“All I want to do is ask them what they’re doing here.”

“They looked about our age, maybe they’re just going to school, you know, like us.”

“Yeah maybe.” I muttered. “At least we can keep an eye on them if they’re here.”

“There you go.” He smiled and I just rolled my eyes. “Besides, if you were going to talk to anyone it should probably be the girl; she just seems less likely to rip your head off.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I grinned.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Derek.” I scoffed.

“Please, Derek’s a puppy dog now that he has Stiles around.”

“Is that so?” We both spun around to see Derek standing behind us, leather-clad arms folded over his chest.

“Oh hey… Derek.” I said, a little sheepishly. “You uh – you been here long?”

I fought back the urge to punch Boyd in the face for holding back his laughter as Derek stared me down stoically.

“Yeah.” He said. “What did I say about this pack?”

“Derek-”

“I said to stay away from them.”

“Okay, it’s not my fault this time, they kind of came to us.” I said.

“Well don’t make it worse, if they’re a problem, we’ll deal with it.” I was about to argue with him when my phone buzzed.

I let out a huff as I pulled it out of my pocket and swiped across the text message.

 

**Mine 2night instead of Derek’s? Got your fave**

 

I smiled. “Well I would love to stay and debate this but I’ve got to go.”

“Hot date?” Boyd said with a grin.

“When did you become such a smart-ass?” I asked.

“Always have been.” He shrugged.

I shook my head and was about to send a message back to Scott when Derek grabbed me by the shirt and let out a growl. “Hey!”

“Easy Derek!” I said.

“I don’t want you going after them. If they come to you, I want to hear about it.” He said and I swallowed, knowing that this was something he was taking pretty damn seriously.

“Okay!” I said, really, _really_ wishing that he would let go.

I think he could see that he had convinced me well enough to let me go as he shoved me back. Boyd was just looking at the two of us with raised eyebrows and Derek just gave me a nod.

“Well… I’ve got study to do so… I’ll see you tomorrow.” Boyd said, giving me a smile as he headed off.

“Like I said, I have somewhere to be too.” I said, turning my eyes away from Derek.

I don’t think he meant to get so angry; this whole pack thing is just grinding him. Either way I turned away from him and walked away, heading straight to Scott’s as I sent him a text.

 

**_Already on my way_ **

 

It didn’t take long to get there, I’ve figured out the shortcuts to Scott’s place already. I might have to cut across a few back yards but I’m quick enough that nobody notices, usually. When I got there I knocked on the door but he was already pulling it open with that big lopsided grin.

“You rang?” I said.

“Shut up.” He said with a laugh.

As I stepped through the door he grabbed me in the same way that Derek had done, only this time it had a different outcome. He pulled me into him lips first before his hands slipped down to hold tightly to my hips. Of course I responded by taking him by the sides of his face and opening up my lips to let him in.

When I finally pulled back, panting and damn it if I wasn’t already turned on, I tilted the sides of my lips up into a smile.

“What the hell was that for?” I asked.

“Saying you didn't like it?” He said with a smirk and a hint of arrogance that I love.

“Not in the slightest, aren’t you worried about your mom seeing us though?”

“She’s working late… it’s just the two of us.”

“Oh?” I said hopefully, grinning and leaning in to kiss him softly, savouring the taste of his lips.

“Look, I was thinking…” He started and I desperately wanted to tell him not to ruin this moment but he looked like he really wanted to say this thing. “I’m going to tell her, tomorrow, or this weekend. Soon, really soon.” He said, taking me by surprise.

“Scott you know I don’t-”

“I know… just hearing you introduce me to that girl today as ‘your friend’ made me wonder if that’s what it feels like for you when we’re around my mom.” He said.

“I never meant for that to go that way, I just didn’t have time to tell her anything real or-”

“Oh, I know, and I don’t care about that, I just don’t want to make you feel like… like I’m ashamed or anything.” I just gave him a smile and stroked his cheek with my thumb before he smirked again. “Besides, I know you’re all mine.” His hands gave a few soft tugs on my hips and I laughed.

“Do you now?” I asked.

He kissed me again, but only for a second before his lips were travelling along my jaw and to my ear to where his hot breath sent a shiver running through me. He ran his tongue along the outside before letting his teeth scrape my ear lobe.

“Do you want to tell me I’m wrong?” He said in a husky voice that made me bite down hard on my lip.

“Well I don’t _want_ to…” I said and he chuckled, biting down and sucking gently. “… but if you’re going to do that then you might want to change locations.” I said.

He growled low in his throat and grabbed me roughly by the wrist, dragging me away and up the stairs. I couldn’t help but think about the awkwardness of the other night and god do I wish I hadn’t. It started to kill my mood as I forced myself to think of anything else.

The second we hit his room he had me pressed up against the wall, rocking his hips into mine and his breath in my ear again. “Tell me that you’re mine.” He cooed, his hand sliding under my shirt and reaching up to gently tweak my nipple.

“What’s gotten into you?” I whispered.

He growled, grabbing my shirt and pulling it roughly over my head, tossing it away. He took hold of my wrists again and pinned them to the wall behind me. “Tell me.”

I could see in his eyes that he was slightly vulnerable but there was a hunger that made me want to see where this side of him wanted to go. “I’m yours.” I breathed.

He let his hands run down my chest, his eyes ravishing me as it rose and fell with my heavy breaths. “Good.” He said as he grabbed me and threw me down onto the bed.

Climbing over me he ran his tongue from my navel to my chin leaving a hot trail with so much unexplored. His teeth nipped at my neck as my hands started to pull his shirt up. He pulled back to tear it off, turning back to me and going straight for my jeans.

“Hey, hey… you’re in a rush don’t you think.” I said.

I’m not an idiot, I still helped him unbuckle my jeans and take them off as he gave me that impossibly sexy smirk.

“Maybe I just want you out of your clothes so that I can enjoy more of you for longer.” He said.

I’ve seriously never seen him like this. The more I think about it the more I think he was more jealous than he was willing to let on earlier, maybe I should meet pretty old friends more often.

“Not going to say no to that.” I said, grabbing the back of his head to pull him back for a kiss.

He held his lips barely above mine, flicking out his tongue to taste my top lip. I let my own pass between my lips and stroke the side of his. He lowered his mouth to meet mine, kissing me as deeply as he could manage as his hand reaching down and rubbing back and forth on the bulge in my boxer shorts.

I groaned against his lips as he squeezed a little harder. “ _Uhn…  I am so yours Scott_ …” I whispered, our breath passing between us as I watched his eyes glow yellow.

His fingers locked around the waistband of my boxers and slowly – torturously – pulled them down over my legs and off my ankles until I was lying naked on his bed, my cock hard and leaning back against my stomach. He knelt above me on his hands and knees, leaning in to slide the tip of his tongue from the base of my throbbing member to the head.

I let out a sharp intake of breath and grabbed the sheets as I felt his lips give a long pull and his tongue skimmed over my slit. Slowly he lowered his lips and hollowed out his cheeks until his lips were reaching the base. He urged himself down again and his throat felt more than amazing around me.

He groaned and the rumbling feeling made me let out a high pitched sound that I knew he was smiling about. Scott likes nothing more than hearing me moan and whisper his name so I take my every chance to get him even hotter under his collar.

“ _Fuck… oh god Scott_ …” I said with a moan.

To my surprise he pulled away and looked up at me, his eyes back to that gorgeous brown as he smiled, his lips red and glistening from his saliva.

“Don’t tell me you’re stopping.” I said, sincerely hoping that he wasn’t.

“God no.” He said, taking me in his hand and squeezing slightly, twisting a little at the tip.

My eyes rolled back into my head and I lay back, the second my eyes were closed his hands left me.

“Hey… that’s stopping…” I said.

He leant over to the side of the bed, his heartbeat pounding ridiculously loud in his chest, the sound of it filling my ears. He reached down and into his backpack, pulling out a cylindrical bottle, his eyes flicking back to me a little nervously.

Don’t think about last time… _crap._

“Scott I-”

He bent down to silence me with his mouth, ravenous and insatiable. “Don’t say anything, just let me keep going.” He breathed.

I was in no condition to stop him so I just bit my lip as he opened the bottle, spreading some onto his fingers before wrapping them around my cock one more time. The way his hand slipped easily up and down was like running your fingers through velvet and my heart started rattling in my chest as he switched hands and cupped my balls in his hand, his fingers pressing gently just underneath.

Trying to take in everything that I was feeling was impossible, so many parts of me were burning hot and my feet were tingling at the sensation. The more he touched me the more I wanted all of him and I needed all of him. I felt my body starting to change, my claws breaking holes in the sheets and fangs extending in my open mouth as that need began to overwhelm me.

He let go only briefly to unbuckle his own jeans and tear them off faster than I’ve ever seen him do it. He poured some more from the bottle onto his fingers and spread my legs apart further, positioning himself between them and putting his fingers back on me, sliding them closer to my entrance until the soft tip of one finger was circling me in a way that had me gasping for air.

I think I said his name, I think I mumbled a whole bunch of words and sounds that made no sense and it made Scott’s already increasing confidence grow.

“If you want me to stop just tell me.” He said.

“Don’t… don’t stop Scott keep going…” I said quickly, my eyes still closed as I felt him force one finger inside me slowly, pushing it in and out a small way. “Like that… yeah like that…” I moaned.

The further he went the more I fought down the urge to push back against him and when he curled the end of his finger I let out a yelp that was more animal than man. I reached up to put my hand on his shoulder and gripped him tightly.

He winced a little as my claws nicked his skin but his glowing eyes told me that he didn’t mind, I think he may have even enjoyed it. As he pulled back he slipped another finger inside and I groaned even louder.

“You like that?” He whispered, the sound of his voice ringing in my sensitive ears making it even better.

I nodded and pushed myself against him a little and he chuckled to himself haughtily before scissoring slowly. It was slightly painful but with one more curl of his finger it was easy to forget.

“Come on Scott… I want you… _I want you now_.” I said, pleading with him to give me more.

I wanted to feel him filling me, I wanted him to be as much a part of me physically as he was emotionally but it was more than just a want, it was a fiery need that burned in every fibre of my being.

He pulled his fingers out of me taking from beside the bottle a condom and opening it to slip it on, he was already leaking pre-come, clearly enjoying himself just as much as I had been.

He leant in to kiss me, his body still between my legs and I put my hands on his sides as I looked up at him. “I love you.” I whispered.

He smiled as he slicked himself up a little more and lined himself up with my body and rubbing himself against my entrance. He put a reassuring hand on my hip before he pushed the head of his throbbing cock into me.

I let out a cry mixed between pleasure and pain as he waited for my body to adjust to his, not letting me pull him in any further.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He said with a grin, kissing my neck gently.

“Screw it, I’ll heal – just fuck me, _please_.” I said, fans still descended and eyes glowing.

He groaned, trying to use his self-control but we both know that he has none to speak of. He pushed himself inside me, slowly at first, warming me up. I growled at the sting but as he started moving his hips faster it stopped being painful and the angle of his hips was hitting the perfect spot.

His brow furrowed as he thrust his throbbing member inside me harder, the pressure on my hot-spot becoming even greater and more exhilarating with every pump of his hips. The sound of his laboured grunts as the sweat on his forehead began to bead just made me want more of him, everything that he had. I pushed back with him and he moaned with pleasure.

A trickle of blood ran down my finger and over his hip because of my claws. He took his hand off my hip and took my thigh, lifting it higher and making it easier for him to force himself deeper inside me.

I could feel my stomach tightening and my growling turned into a low crooning. “Scott… oh… _Scott I’m almost_ …” I breathed.

I didn’t have time to finish the sentence before I was exploding in a white hot eruption over both of our chests. His voice became a strangled moan as my body tightened around him and as I was still in the throes of my orgasm I felt him let go, holding tightly enough on my leg to bruise.

The waves washed through him and I watched the expression on his face change to one of impossible pleasure and relief. He exhaled heavily as he rested his body on mine. I kissed him, any part of him that I could get my lips on and he smiled groggily.

“I didn’t think that I could love you any more than I did but oh my god…” He panted.

“And you wanted to wait…” I teased. “We could have been doing this all summer.”

“Well we’re just going to have to make up for it now aren’t we?” He said, kissing me but not moving his body away.

“We most definitely are.”


	11. Chapter Eleven

Stiles sat at home in the chair at his desk, studying like he knew he should even though he always gets straight A’s anyway. He looked at the time on his phone and sighed, it was almost six and his dad wasn’t home, not to mention it was the full moon so Derek and all the rest of them were banding together because hey, some pack full of strangers decided to crash in their not-so-sleepy little town.

As he stared at his phone he bit back the urge to send Derek a text or call him. He hadn’t seen him the night before either, clearly this whole ‘new alpha in town’ thing has him rattled. Stiles knew it couldn’t be easy for him to deal with and that the reason he’s been a little colder the last few days is because there’s already been too much happening in the last few months and he doesn’t want to lose a member of his pack.

Stiles is just waiting for him to cut him off even further. He did it once after he almost lost him so who’s to say he won't do it again now? It’s a coping mechanism, he knows that. It’s a way for Derek to stop himself and the people he cares about getting hurt. He has this problem where he blames himself for all the problems that surround him.

Sometimes Stiles wishes that he would just blame Peter for long enough to kill him because he does far more damage than he does good. He never will though. Peter may be a jackass, a sarcastic and narcissistic liar who killed his sister – but he is the last part of his family left.

Stiles would have loved to meet Derek at sixteen, young and happy with a family still around him and before everything happened with Paige. He knew that he would have been so different. Sometimes he wonders if that Derek will ever come back.

Now he wasn’t focussing on anything productive so he threw down his pen and stretched himself out in his chair. He looked at the clock; **6:05**.

 _God damn it_ , he thought. He was never going to get anything done now. He told himself that he wouldn’t interfere tonight because of the full moon and the new pack and it would make Derek feel better if he was just at home having a quiet one but the silence was starting to get irritating.

He decided to go for a shower because there was nothing better to do and he was waiting to hear from his dad. He didn’t want to cook anything if he wasn’t going to be home or if he was picking something up on the way. Then again, his cooking was basically reheating whatever he could find.

He checked his phone again, knowing that if he had got a message he would have heard it but still swiping the screen anyway. He threw it down onto his bed and headed into the bathroom, quickly stripping down and turning on the hot water. The weather was still warm for now, in a few months it would be getting a lot colder.

He took his time, knowing that after this all he had was study or TV and nothing sounded all that interesting to him. Well, one or two things did, and so he amused himself for a while with one of them. It didn’t kill as much time as he had hoped it would.

When the room was too steamy to breathe he climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, giving himself a quick glance in the mirror. He had no idea what Derek saw in him. Sure, he had nice cheekbones and small dimples when he smiled but Derek had the body, the hair, the jawline, the everything that made a guy perfect. He knew that his scent had something to do with it but all he could smell now was soap and when he hasn’t had a shower it’s sweat. So he hasn’t got a clue but his mantra begins with the line ‘if it ain’t broke’.

He cracked his neck from side to side as he walked into his bedroom.

“Easy there Stiles, maybe you should buy me dinner first.” He leapt about a mile in the air when he saw Erica sitting back on his bed flicking through her phone.

“Holy – what is with you werewolves and breaking into my house to get into my bed?! I’m up to three now so who’s going to be next? _Jackson?_ ” He said, slightly annoyed and holding his towel ridiculously tight.

She laughed. “Oh calm down, I’m just here to make sure you’re safe.”

“And who exactly said that I need to be protected?” He grunted, walking over to his dresser to look for some fresh clothes. “Would you get out so I can de-naked please?”

She chuckled again. “Just go back into the bathroom, you seemed to enjoy yourself when you were in there just before. Besides, I’m here to watch you remember.” She winked and Stiles scoffed.

“That Derek’s suggestion was it?”

“To protect you? Obviously.”

“And he sent you?” He said, raising an eyebrow and not believing it for a second.

She shrugged. “He sent me to protect someone.”

He rolled his eyes and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. “I take it I’m not the only one who requires protection then?” He pulled on his shirt and tugged his jeans over his slightly damp legs.

“You and all the other humans.” She called.

As he walked out he threw his towel onto the floor and realised that it was his phone that she was looking through. “Excuse me! Do you mind?” He swiped at the phone but her reflexes were too quick and she pulled away.

“Derek’s such a sweetie when the two of you talk. It actually kind of makes me sick.” She said with a twisted smile.

“You’re crazy!” He muttered, snatching it away from her. “So how did you get landed with me?” He asked, shoving it into his pocket and away from her.

She shrugged. “I traded with Boyd.”

“Who’s he with?”

“Lydia.”

“Lydia?”

“Yes Lydia, did I not say it clearly enough?” She said.

“Well I just thought that Jackson would be with her, or is he tied up in a basement again?” He snickered a little, finding the thought to be quite amusing.

“No, he’s not.”

“Something’s going on with them, isn’t there?” He asked and she just looked back at him. “Don’t tell me there isn’t because I may be a fragile human but I know when something is up.”

“Whatever it is I don’t know it, I just know that he’s grumpier than usual and he volunteered to watch over Danny. He’s staying at his place tonight.”

“Derek asked someone to protect Danny?” Stiles wrinkled his nose, that didn’t seem right.

“No, Jackson’s all uppity about it because he saw him talking to one of the twins yesterday, and he didn’t like it.” She said.

“I don’t like it either…” Stiles muttered.

He didn’t know these new people and if any of the other unannounced supernatural beings are anything to go by then he didn’t want to.

“Well Derek tried to talk him out of it but I think he saw that Jackson was genuinely worried so he just let him go. Now we just have to worry about Danny being ripped apart if Jackson can't keep control.” She said with a smile.

“You know you’re a little sick right?” He said. “So… where’s Derek?”

She rolled her eyes. “How did I know you’d ask about him?”

“Shut up, if you knew I was going to annoy you then why did you trade for me?”

She didn’t answer that. “He and Scott are out by the old house, I think they’re mainly trying to keep Peter from doing something stupid.”

Stiles scoffed, knowing perfectly well how difficult a task that could be. As he thought about it he realised that she hadn’t mentioned Isaac.

“So, wait, where is-”

He was cut off by the sound of feet on the roof and a second later Isaac was climbing in through the window.

“Hey this is my gig, get your own.” Erica said, still lounging about on the bed.

“What happened to you?” Stiles asked.

Isaac’s hair was scruffy and full of dry grass pieces and one side of his shirt was torn a little and covered in dirt.

“I was given the pleasure of making sure nothing happens to Allison during the full moon.” He grumbled. “I knocked on her window and told her the plan only for her to give me the old ‘I can take care of myself’ routine and shove me off the roof!” He growled, shaking his head and sitting down in the desk chair.

Erica smiled. “That’s what you get when you steal someone’s boyfriend.”

“I didn’t steal him… she gave him away and I just happened to be there-”

“On the rebound?” She grinned and he snarled.

“Hey, hey!” Stiles said, putting up his hands between them. “Can we get a little less werewolfitude in here? I don’t really feel like dying, not this full moon anyway. So what made you come here?”

“I didn’t want them to think that I wasn’t doing my job so I couldn’t go with them, Scott would kill me.” He said a little begrudgingly. “So I just came here, I figured you’d be staying in but I thought Boyd would be here.”

“They swapped… for some unknown reason.” Stiles muttered.

Erica just gave Isaac a big grin and he shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll worry too much about Scott killing me, you should be worried about Derek taking you apart.” He said.

“Oh come on, Stiles wouldn’t let his little sourwolf do that.” She said and Isaac raised his eyebrow over at Stiles who had folded his arms over his chest.

“Sourwolf?” He asked.

“Did you have to go through my text messages?” He spat at Erica and she nodded.

“You left it out, what else was I supposed to do in here?”

“There is a computer right there.” He pointed to the desk behind Isaac.

“I don’t really want to know what’s on there Stiles.” She said.

“I’d be more worried about the phone.” Isaac said, grinning.

“Alright both of you shut up.”

“I’m hungry, you guys want to get some food?” Isaac offered.

“That would be awesome, I’m starved.” Erica hopped up and flicked back her hair.

They both looked to Stiles who sighed. “Fine, take out menus are in one of the kitchen drawers so you can both get the hell out of my room!”

The three of them ordered Chinese after Stiles got a text from his dad saying that he would just pick something up for himself on his way home later. Isaac complained for a while about Allison and her kicking him out and Erica mostly chanted sarcastic remarks at him.

Stiles noticed that Isaac was sweating a little, and it wasn’t from the spice in the food, not to mention his deeply furrowed brow whenever he was quiet.

“Hey Isaac, you okay?” He asked as he shovelled another mouthful of rice down.

“What? Yeah I’m fine.” He shrugged and Erica just snorted.

“It’s the full moon Stiles, he’s probably in heat.” She laughed to herself.

“I’m not a bitch like you so don’t say it like that.” He snapped.

“Whoa, okay, did I just step into some werewolf thing here?” Stiles asked.

“Well duh, haven’t you noticed that Derek gets randy every time the full moon rolls along?” She asked.

“He’s basically always like that.” He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

“Well then more so.” She said, narrowing her eyes.

Stiles shrugged, “Yeah, I guess, mostly just more – you know what I don’t really want to talk about my sex life with either of you… no more than I already have.” He looked over at Isaac who looked like he wanted to avoid this conversation.

“Well that’s why, it’s just a wolf thing.” She shrugged.

“What? Getting super-hot because of a big silver ball in the sky?”

This time both of them narrowed their eyes at him. “Hey, I never said that’s what my deal was.” Isaac said. “Can’t talk for you though.” He nodded to Erica.

She scoffed, “Please, I can smell it on you.” She said in a seductive voice, leaning in to nip at his ear to which he snarled. “I know, I know, property of _Scott_. How about you?” She looked over at Stiles with a wink and he smiled as he shook his head.

“Only if you have a death wish.” He said.

“Well phrased.” They all spun to see Derek walking in from the other room.

“Seriously… knocking…” Stiles muttered.

Erica looked slightly wary but Derek just gave her a glare before he placed a hot, open mouthed kiss on Stiles’ lips. A little taken aback he dropped his fork – he never was any good with chopsticks – and kissed him back.

“That’s my cue to go I think.” Isaac said, standing up and wrapping up his empty container. “I take it Scott’s at home?”

“Unless he’s waiting for you in your bed… you know, all naked and ready for you to show him a good time.” Erica said with a smile and Stiles groaned.

“Can you not put that image in my head like, ever again please?”

Isaac smirked. “Yeah Erica, shut up.”

“Why are you here and not out making sure Peter doesn’t do anything… Peter-like?” She asked, standing up too.

“He left for the night, headed into the city.” Derek said.

“Why would he go to the city?” Stiles asked.

Derek shrugged. “Full moon.”

“Oh so Uncle-Alpha has moon fever too.” Erica said.

“Would you stop with that?” Isaac said. “Is Scott at home?”

“Hey, you’re the one who has the problem admitting it.” She said.

“He’s home but my real question is what the hell are you all doing here? And where is Boyd?” Derek asked, a little angry.

“We traded.” Erica said.

“And Allison can protect herself.” Isaac said with a little bit of resentment.

“Why do I even bother with the two of you? Leave, now.” Derek growled.

He seemed pretty angry to Stiles and the others seemed to feel the same vibe.

“Look, I wouldn’t have-” Isaac started.

“I said leave.” Derek said again.

“Well I guess this little party is over.” Erica said, getting up to leave and giving Derek a wide berth.

Derek made long strides over to her and grabbed her by the throat, pinning her against the wall and knocking a picture in its frame to the floor, smashing the glass. Her hands clawed at his, trying to pull him away and both Isaac and Stiles recoiled at the sudden movements.

“Next time I give you a job I want you to do it; don’t go second guessing or trading. If I ask you to do it then do it!” He snarled.

She panted, closing her eyes tight as Derek’s angry breath fanned her face. “Okay!” She whined.

“You want to fight back that’s fine, but be smart about it and don’t do it on a full moon.” He gave her one last squeeze before letting her drop to the floor.

She clutched at her throat and looked up at him as she scrambled to her feet. She said nothing to him, she just gave him a look and tried to avoid his eyes.

“We should go.” Isaac said slowly.

He reached out to Erica, taking her hand and pulling her to the front door. She looked back almost apologetically to Derek, the alpha’s verbal thrashing enough to send shockwaves through her, scaring her wolf into submission.

As Derek watched them leave Stiles walked over to the fallen picture. He picked it up and sighed. The glass was shattered and the frame was broken in the corner. Derek walked over to him and felt a little guilty as he stared down at the picture.

Stiles was probably no more than seven, grinning wildly and in the arms of his mother who had her lips pressed against his cheek. He brushed his thumb over her image and his lips twitched a little.

“I’m sorry.” Derek said quietly.

Stiles shrugged, “It’s alright, it’s just a picture frame.”

“It’s not about the frame.”

“It’s fine Derek, we can replace it.” Stiles put the picture on the bench and looked down at the broken glass.

“I’ll get it.” Derek said, using his hands to gather it up, guilty for letting his anger shine through.

Stiles watched as he collected the glass off the floor sheepishly and pour it into the bin. He put his hand on his arm to stop his and Derek turned to face him.

“Seriously Derek, it’s the full moon, I don’t blame you for acting a little crazy-alpha. Plus your jealousy is kind of hot.” He said, trying to break the mood that he could see creeping onto Derek’s features.

“I’m not jealous of _Erica_.” He said, huffing out her name like it was a struggle for him.

“No, you’re jealous of me being friends with Erica.”

“Why would I be jealous of that when I clearly have you as more than just a friend?” He asked, slipping an arm around Stiles’ waist.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because you have trouble with the whole ‘friend’ thing.” He offered.

Derek just raised an eyebrow as his other hand slid downwards towards Stiles’ ass. Stiles chuckled and kissed him once.

“You see, that’s just what I mean, straight to the sex.” He said with a smile.

“I happen to like the sex.” Derek mumbled against his cheek, his lips trailing downwards, mouthing his neck gently.

“Yeah well I’m… I’m pretty fond of it too…” He breathed, getting distracted by the warm wet feel of Derek’s tongue gliding against his skin.

Derek slowly turned him until he was pressing Stiles to the wall, holding him firmly in place with his hips.

“Wow… you really do have moon fever…” Stiles muttered as the solid pressure of Derek’s overgrown cock throbbed against his hip.

Derek sighed and tore his lips away, sweat beading his brow and his eyes impatient. “Do you have a point to your ramblings? Because once we start this I’m not going to be able to stop.” He said.

“Right, the whole full moon wanton-werewolf thing, I dig that-”

“ _Stiles_ …” Derek groaned, more of a whimper than anything else.

“I’m just – I mean we kind of jumped straight into the whole physical thing, and talking to Isaac the other night…” Derek let out a little groan. “… talking to Isaac made me think that we could maybe stand to be a little more like the two of them, you know, friends… maybe do a little more talking – which I know you hate but hear me out.” Derek snorted but stayed quiet to let him finished _, probably because all the blood in his body had completely deserted his brain_ , Stiles thought. “Sometimes I just feel like we’re kind of… static?” He said.

“Static?”

“Yeah, you know, staying in the same stagnant position.” He bobbed his head a bit and Derek gave him some room to breathe, stepping back to lean on the table. “You say a lot more than you used to but still… when you do it’s all kind of cryptic or vague. You have no idea how many questions I have going through my mind that I’ll never ask because then you won't say anything. I mean you really have no idea, my brain is kind of like this dark place where things are always spinning and going round in-”

“Stiles…” He said, stopping the onslaught of words that come from the lack of a filter between brain and mouth. “Just tell me exactly what you want.” He said.

He sighed. “I don’t know, can we just … get to know each other better? You could take me out on a date; I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” He shrugged and Derek looked almost amused.

“Don’t we always do that?” He asked.

“I don’t mean the ‘hey, let’s go and have loud crazy sex in the woods’ kind of date, I mean an actual ‘eat dinner in a restaurant’ kind of date. I mean it doesn’t have to be anything fancy or whatever, I just want to talk to you like people do when they… date. Like I said, we kind of skipped the getting to know you part.” He shrugged.

Derek still had that corner of his mouth smile on, “If I say yes can we move on to more amusing activities?”

“Seriously, is the moonlight some kind of wolfy Viagra?” He rolled his eyes and walked towards Derek, dropping to his knees.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” He asked as he yanked hard on Derek’s zipper. “I’m going to make you say yes even if you don’t want to.” He smirked a little and Derek laughed, not bothering to stop him.

“Oh believe me, I want to.” He said, grinning as he closed his eyes and waited for what was sure to be a worthy onslaught.

 

 

Isaac headed straight to Scott’s place, calling him on the way to make sure that he was in fact there and not like Erica said, waiting at Derek’s. The thought of that really didn’t make him comfortable on the journey over.

Melissa’s car wasn’t in the driveway, so he knew that she was covering the late shift. _Good_ , he thought. The full moon had always been a time when his emotions were heightened but now that he and Scott were together one particular emotion was burning him so deeply that he didn’t want to wait a second to get his hands on him.

As usual, Scott had left the door open for him. He headed inside, locking it before practically bolting towards the stairs and leaping up them three at a time. He reached Scott’s door and wrenched it open to see Scott – sleeping. He was asleep.

Rolling his eyes he quietly took off his shoes and jeans, stripping down to just his white tee and boxers. As he slid in beside Scott, moulding their bodies together he let out a contented groaning sound, reaching back to hold Isaac into him.

“What took you so long?” He said sleepily, his body waking up faster than his mind.

“Nothing, I walked here from Stiles’ place, remember my lack of a car?” He said, kissing the back of his neck and inching his fingertips under the elastic of Scott’s underwear.

“You’re so hot… you ran here didn’t you?” He said cheekily, rolling over so that he could weld his lips to Isaac’s.

They parted quickly, Scott’s tongue dragging along the side of Isaac’s as they both let out pleasured groans. Isaac nipped at Scott’s bottom lip, biting him just hard enough to draw blood before it healed.

“Don’t do that…” He mumbled against Isaac’s lips.

“Why not?” He breathed, slowly pushing his hips back and forth causing just enough friction to have them both achingly hard in seconds.

“I have very little control as it is, let alone with you doing that…” He said, running his tongue along Isaac’s teeth.

“Who said I wanted you to be in control, huh? Why don’t you let go…?” He said raspingly, moving his teeth down to Scott’s neck and biting him a little harder.

Scott grunted, his voice breaking slightly at the peak. “Isaac, I’ll hurt you for real if I let go.”

“What’s the point in having super healing powers if I don’t get a little pleasure out of it?” He said, brushing away a small trickle of blood with his tongue.

“Seriously… stop it…” Scott said, his eyes glowing yellow, unable to be held back.

“You should know by now that I like it when you get a little rough with me…” Isaac breathed.

Scott wet his bottom lip, his fangs descending slowly as the idea of losing control became even more enticing. He could see that Isaac’s features were changing, the perks of being in a relationship with another werewolf was that you didn’t have to have that constant control over yourself. Accidentally nicking them with one of your claws meant healing immediately, with a human… not so much.

“Maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if you got _a lot_ rough with me…” His voice came out in such a throaty groan that Scott shook his head.

“You are such a bad influence.” He growled, hopping up to pin him down, squeezing his wrists painfully.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it.” Isaac said and Scott just smirked down at him.

“Just shut up and let me get on with it.” He growled.

“Not going to argue with that.”


	12. Chapter Twelve

Erica let out a long hard sigh, her elbows propped up on her knees and her chin resting in her palm. She stared out ahead of her into more woods as she thought to herself.

“You know that’s the third time you’ve done that since we got here.” Boyd said, looking over at her and waiting for her to let it all out.

“So?” She muttered.

“So it’s been like three weeks and you still haven’t said more than two words in his company.” He said.

“So?” She repeated, and Boyd just sat quietly and waited for the break. “What am I supposed to feel? _How_ am I supposed to feel?” She asked.

“About what?”

“About everything. I know I should be happy that this new pack is docile as anything and that there’s nothing going on right now, I know that.” She said, biting her lip and still looking straight ahead. “Is it wrong that I kind of miss things happening?” She looked up and Boyd shook his head.

“I know what you mean, kind of like this feeling is… wasted on just high school.”

“It’s not like I'm sitting around wishing for another Maeve or anything… I just… and then there’s Derek.” She said in a puff.

“Erica, it happened like three weeks ago, and you do push the line a little bit.” He said, a smile creeping onto his face.

“I know I do, and for a while it was fun but it’s not just that I got close to him after the whole incident, or that I kissed him-”

“This is Stiles we’re talking about right?” He asked.

“Obviously,” she snapped. “It’s not just that, it’s like he blames me for putting him in danger because he was with me and Jackson. But he doesn’t blame him because he got himself knocked out before anything actually happened. I was the one that he risked his life for and so what? Does that make me the one to blame for what happened? He finds his own trouble without my help.”

“This stuff still plays on your mind? After all these months?” Boyd asked.

“What the hell was I supposed to do? Die for him? I mean I guess I kind of would die for Stiles, I’d die for all of you really.” She screwed up her nose. “That’s not true, I’d die for the two of you… and maybe Isaac, depends on the day, but not the rest of them.”

Boyd chuckled to himself and Erica looked over at him, almost surprised with herself for spouting out so much in one go.

“Oh god, did I really just say all of that?”

“Yeah, you really did.” He smiled.

She sighed. “Please just ignore me… I’m probably getting my period or something.”

“Do I have to tell you every month that I _really_ don’t need to know that?”

She rolled her eyes with a smile. “Obviously. Look, I’ll try to get over it but Derek is not the easiest person to settle something with.”

 

 

“You know you’re still doing it wrong.” Derek said to Isaac as he read his essay over his shoulder.

“Oh my god would you stop doing that? It’s my essay and it’s fine.” He said, trying to cover his words from Derek’s prying eyes.

“I’ve read that book, and you’re interpretation is wrong.”

“It’s my interpretation, how can that be wrong?”

“Trust me it is, I wrote that exact essay when I was a senior and you’re going to do about as well as I did if you keep going down that path.” He walked away, taking a bite out of his apple and picking up a book as he headed to the couch.

“Do you realise how impossible you are to live with?” Isaac said, looking over at him.

Derek gave him a blank stare. “Do you realise there’s a reason for that?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m a burden I know, now get your nose out of my essay so I can finish.” He turned back to his page and Derek shrugged.

After a few moments of silence Derek looked up. “Why aren’t you doing this at Scott’s place anyway?”

Isaac sighed. “He’s got some stuff to do.” He mumbled.

Derek raised an eyebrow but he didn’t need to know, and it sounded like Isaac didn’t want to think about it.

“Why are you still pissed at Erica?” That one caught him off guard and he gave Isaac a strange look.

“Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know, I’ve just been wondering I suppose.”

“Well stop it.” He shut his book and began to head upstairs.

“Stiles said he was coming over after he finished his calculus!” Isaac called up the stairs, only to be responded to with a grunt and a slamming door. “Yep, love you too Derek.” He muttered.

His ears picked up on a faint growling sound from behind Derek’s door and he laughed to himself. “Thought you’d like that one.”

He continued writing his essay, Derek’s negative words not really affecting him in the slightest. He knew it was bad, and that was because he really wasn’t concentrating on it anyway. The homework was a distraction from other things.

Why was he worried? He had nothing to worry about. Well, he hoped he had nothing to worry about.

He went round and round in circles over the next hour as he wrote out the same lines over and over. Everything seemed to be happening twice in his head, all the bad scenarios and unwanted outcomes… but his phone stayed silent as he waited for something, anything.

When Stiles finally showed up he figured that he was getting nowhere and it was probably time to give up.

“Hey, that your English assignment?” He asked as he threw his keys onto the table.

“Maybe, and don’t come over here and tell me that it’s all wrong. That’s Derek’s job.” He muttered.

“Alright then.” Stiles put his hands up and pointed to the stairs. “Speaking of Derek, is he upstairs?”

“Yes he is, escaping me and my questions.”

“What’s the matter with you? And what questions? Am I going to go up there to an angry, pouting alpha werewolf?” He asked.

“I just asked him about Erica and he left.”

“Ah… well, yeah, sounds about right.”

“I don’t know, it’s been long enough, why can't the two of them just get over it?”

“I don’t even know what ‘ _it_ ’ is.” Stiles mumbled. “But seriously, what’s the matter with you? You’re all twitchy and agitated.”

“Have you talked to Scott?”

Stiles shook his head, a little frustrated at Isaac’s avoidance techniques. “No Isaac, I haven’t. Should I have?”

“I just thought he might have said something.”

“About _what_?” He huffed, visibly aggravated.

Isaac looked up with worry over his brow. “He’s telling his mom tonight.”

“Oh… well… yeah that’d do it.” Stiles said, brushing the back of his head with his hand.

 

 

Scott paced back and forth in his room, trying to plan a way to start the conversation he was getting himself into but there was just nowhere to lead from.

“Mom I’m – no, no that’s not right… listen mom I think it’s time we had that talk… damn it… mom – oh my god.” He muttered to himself, just about leaping out the window when he heard the door open.

“Did you call me?” Melissa asked, poking her head through.

“No, I mean, I was just…”

“Well whatever you were just doing can you carry it on downstairs? Dinner’s ready.” She smiled before leaving the doorway and Scott just whimpered slightly.

 _What the hell am I supposed to say_? He thought as he slowly left his room to go downstairs to the kitchen. His mom was already dishing up and he watched her for a moment before his phone buzzed in his pocket.

 

**You OK? How’s it going?**

 

Isaac seemed almost more nervous than he was, if that were possible.

 

**_I’m fine, I’ll text when it’s done, just need to catch my nerve_ **

 

**Well, I love you if that helps**

 

**_It doesn’t but I love you too_ **

 

**GL**

 

He was going to need more than just luck to get him through this conversation. He headed into the kitchen and huffed out his worries, sitting down at the table as his mother put his plate down in front of him.

The phrase ‘wolfing down your food’ never had so much meaning.

“Whoa, take it easy. You in a hurry to get somewhere?” Melissa laughed as Scott tried anything to keep his mouth full and unable to communicate.

He shook his head and she laughed.

“Alright.” She said.

Just do it. You can't keep Isaac a secret from her forever. She’s your mother.

It took him all of dinner to gear himself up to do it, by the last few mouthfuls he knew he just had to bite the bullet.

“Mom?” She looked up at him, concern flickering onto her features as she saw the anxious look on Scott’s face.

“Yes… are you okay Scott? You look a little pale.” She said.

“Uh… yeah, no I’m totally fine, better than fine actually…” he said, swallowing hard.

“Okay, what’s going on?” The worry was gone, now she just looked intrigued.

He exhaled heavily, this was the time to do it. “Well I’ve… I’ve been a little down over Allison lately but I think I’m finally moving on.”

“That’s great sweet heart, it’s all you can really do.” She smiled and reached out to give his hand a squeeze.

“Actually I’m kind of seeing someone else.” He said, clearly nervous.

“Oh really? What’s she like?”

 _Not helping mom_ , “Before I say anything else I need to tell you that-”

“Oh my god… did you get someone pregnant?” She asked, raising her voice slightly.

“What? Mom no!” Scott said shaking his head because that was the last thing that he expected her to say.

“Then why do you look so guilty?”

“Because it’s… because I’m…” She looked over expectantly, waiting for an answer and he sighed. “Mom it’s Isaac, me and him are kind of… together.”

For a moment she just stared at him, her jaw dropped as if she was about to speak but nothing was coming out. She took a breath, ready to say something but stopped short. She was having trouble believing what she was hearing.

“Please don’t freak out.” He said.

“I-” was all she could manage before leaving her empty plate sitting on the table and getting up, walking past him and straight up the stairs to her bedroom and locking the door behind her.

Scott slumped back in his seat, throwing back his head and grunting loudly as he took out his phone to text Isaac. As he stared at the message screen he decided against it and tossed it onto the table, groaning again before beginning to clear the table.

 _This was a huge mistake_ , he thought.

 

 

“Hey Sour wolf.” Stiles said as he walked into the bedroom to see Derek reading in his bed.

He looked up with just his eyes and the look back down again.

“Oh come on, what’s wrong with you?” He said as he kicked off his shoes and threw down his jacket, hopping up onto the bed and crawling over Derek.

Derek didn’t move, he just sat there with a warning look and a deep furrow in his brow. Stiles tried to break that face, smiling and flicking his eyebrows about but Derek wasn’t budging. As their faces drew closer Stiles grabbed his book, forcing it out of his hands and tossing it to the other side of the bed. He pressed his lips to Derek’s, this time feeling a little give as Derek made his lips pliant and kissed him back.

Stiles let out a low rumbling sound. “See, isn’t that much better?” he murmured against Derek’s lips.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“Someone’s touchy tonight.” Stiles said, pulling away and rolling onto his side next to him.

“You interrupted my reading.”

Stiles scoffed. “Please, like you actually care about that. You’re just sulking because Isaac asked you about Erica.” He leant up and kissed his cheek fleetingly.

“Stiles…” He said with a warning growl.

“Oh come on Derek, please don’t tell me that you’re still pissed at Erica?” He grumped.

Derek said nothing, he just shook his head and Stiles sighed. There was something seriously wrong, with the two of them. This wasn’t just some one-sided thing where Derek crossed a line. Erica had crossed them first, lots of them, just seeing how much she could push before he would snap.

“Seriously? Why does she get to you so much? You’re not still jealous are you?” Stiles teased and Derek snapped.

“You want to know why I got angry? Do you want to know why I told her off the way I did? No, it’s not because I’m jealous. I never was. I get angry because she refuses to listen. She finds loopholes in the things I say so she can overstep the mark. When I ask her to do a job or when I give her advice do you think I mean for her to do the opposite or to ignore me and find something that suits her own desires? She’s reckless and irresponsible. When I give her – or any of the others for that matter, a job to do it’s in the best interests of the rest of the pack. Sure, that time it might have been watching over someone but next time we could be out in the forest again and if I can't trust her to do something simple then how can I trust that she won't abandon someone out there?” Stiles sort of gaped at him for a moment, it had all spilled out so quickly.

“Do you blame her for… for what happened to me?” He asked softly.

Derek sighed. “Of course I don’t. How was she supposed to stop it? If that sort of thing can happen when she’s following my orders who knows what could happen if she’s out doing whatever it is she wants. Someone could be killed. She could get herself killed.” He said.

Derek and Erica had a somewhat strained relationship. Even if he didn’t want to admit it he was jealous of her relationship with Stiles. He knew that the two of them talked and that there were some things that he might have said to her that he hasn’t said to anyone else and he resents that. He doesn’t put the blame for that on her, he puts it on himself for not opening himself up but that was something that would take a while to happen completely.

She liked to push the boundaries, he knew that, but there were some things that she needed to learn. She needed to figure out that sometimes his words were for her own good and not just because he enjoyed telling them what to do. In fact, that part was less enjoyable than he had once thought. He felt personally responsible for the rest of his pack and anything that happened to them was on his head and the last thing he wanted was for someone to get hurt.

“You know she has kind of a rough life at home…” Stiles began.

“I know that, do you think I would have turned her, turned any of them if there wasn’t something they needed to escape?” Derek said.

“Well what about Jackson? He was rich and popular and all the rest of it.”

“It’s all about needing a bond, something that feels real. Plus Jackson just wanted to be better than Scott at lacrosse. Underneath that I think he knew the real meaning of pack.” Derek said, almost done with the conversation that was taking a far too intimate turn for his liking.

“It’s pretty powerful, huh?” Stiles asked.

Derek nodded. “I’ve said it before, losing a member of your pack is like losing a limb.”

“Like losing family?” Stiles said, looking up from under his eyelids.

Derek shrugged. “My family was my pack, I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never been human either so I couldn’t try to explain it comparatively.”

“I can totally imagine you as a puppy. How freaking cute would you have been?” He grinned.

“Please don’t ever say that again.”

“You know Scott’s telling his mom about Isaac tonight.”

“You really can't keep your mouth shut about anything can you?”

“You should keep me away from Lydia, she gets it out of me like pulling tissues from a box.”

Derek shook his head and then froze. “If you tell her anything about me I swear to god I’ll rip your throat out.”

Stiles waggled his eyebrows and Derek shifted his body so that he was moulding himself to Stiles’ side. “She doesn’t really ask about any of the intimate details…” Derek’s lips were ravishing his neck and his hand was searching for skin. “Well… not the emotional ones anyway.”

Derek laughed. “Oh really? And what exactly do you tell her?”

“Enough to make her green with envy.”

“You are a terrible human being.”

“And you… well, you’re not even human.” He grinned as Derek stared down into his adoring eyes before planting a kiss on his eager awaiting lips.

 

 

Scott paced back and forth in the living room. It had been two hours since he had told his mother. _Maybe she went to take a nap, maybe she thought it was all just a dream. She didn’t question it, she just sort of let me say it and then… took off._

His thoughts were on a permanent loop and he had no idea what she was going to say when she came out. He tried to listen for her but she didn’t seem to be snoring or crying, which was probably a good sign. But then again it meant that she was awake and just thinking about it.

His phone buzzed and he looked down at another in a long line of unanswered messages from Isaac.

 

**So how did she take it? Is she alright?**

**Scott? Are you okay?**

**Let me know what happens**

**Sorry for all the messages, can't help that I'm worried about you. Love you**

 

Scott sighed. He didn’t want to say anything until he knew exactly what was going on with his mom. She couldn’t have seen it coming so maybe she just needed some time to adjust.

It was almost midnight when he heard the bed creak and her footsteps on the floor. He had almost fallen asleep but now he sat bolt upright, staring at the bottom of the stairs as he waited an agonising amount of time for Melissa to walk down them.

She took slow steps and paused at the flat landing to look over at him, those big brown eyes looking nervous and terrified at the same time. Scott said nothing as she walked over and stood about ten feet from him, not really meeting his eyes.

“So…” She started and he bit his lip. “How um… how long have the two of you…?”

“Uh, a few months I guess.” He mumbled.

“You… and Isaac.” She said.

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t misunderstand when you said – I mean you and Isaac are really…”

“Yeah, we’re kind of… dating, I guess…”

The room filled with an unbearable silence that echoed through the familiar walls. Neither one of them said anything for a few moments; Scott didn’t even know what to say.

“Sorry I – I just didn’t really expect you to come out with that… well, not just over dinner but… ever.” Scott stared down at his feet, trying not to hear disappointment in her voice and not even knowing if he was making it up. “So you kept it all a secret. Am I the last one to know?”

She almost sounded upset. “No, well, not exactly.”

She nodded, sucking her cheek between her teeth and biting down on it. “Well… if you want me to get used to him being your – being with you then fine. You better call him and tell him that tomorrow night he has dinner plans. Here.”

“What?” Scott asked, a little surprised.

“I’ll take the night off work and we can catch up on what we’ve missed the last few months. Right now I’m going to bed… I need it.” She mumbled the last bit as she rubbed her throbbing head. “Tomorrow night, not optional.” She said before she turned around and headed back to her bedroom.

Scott still stood there, confused and wondering why she wanted Isaac over for dinner. This was going to be weird, awkward even. This would be the most uncomfortable dinner of his life to date; that includes the time his parents told him they were getting a divorce.

He grabbed his phone to call Isaac, who answered on the first ring.

“How’d it go?” He asked, not bothering to start with pleasantries.

“Uh… I don’t really know.”

“What? How can you not know?” Isaac asked.

“I just… she sort of ran, and then she came back and confirmed it and then…”

“And then what?”

“How are you at handling awkward situations?” Scott asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re about to be thrown into one. She wants the three of us to have dinner tomorrow night.”

“Just the three of us?” Isaac swallowed.

“Yeah, just us three and one big freaking elephant in the room.”


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“You’re really not helping Scott.” Isaac said and Scott tried to calm him down before heading into his house for dinner.

“Well what else can I say? It’ll be fine.”

“You know what, I might believe you if you didn’t have that look on your face.”

“What look?” Scott said, trying to change his expression.

“That look like you’re about to have a panic attack.”

He sighed. “Sorry, I can't help it. She hasn’t said a word to me all day and now we’re supposed to go in there and – what? Have some big weird family dinner?”

Isaac groaned. “This is going to be painful, and not in the good way.”

“Maybe don’t say things like that at the table.” Scott said, smiling through his panicked expression.

“Of course I’m not going to say things like that! God, why is this making me so nervous?” Isaac pulled at the collar of his navy blue button up shirt and Scott looked him up and down.

“Where did you get that shirt?” He asked.

“It’s Derek’s.” Scott raised an eyebrow.

“Derek leant you a shirt?”

“Well, Stiles leant me one of Derek’s shirts, I don’t even care what he says about it because he laughed when I told him I was coming over here so screw him. Is it obvious that it’s not mine?”

Scott thought that it fit him pretty well, too well in fact. If he wasn’t so worried he would actually find it pretty hot. Then he screwed up his nose, remembering that it belonged to Derek. “Dude, you smell like Derek… and kind of like Stiles.”

“Don’t want to think about that.”

“Me either.”

Isaac managed a tiny smile before exhaling heavily and purposefully. “So, are we just going to sit across the street all night or are we actually going to go in there and get this damn thing over with?”

Scott sighed. “Can we just stay out here? It might be safer.”

“No, now get in there so you can answer the door for me?” He pleaded.

“Fine.” He gave Isaac a fleeting kiss before running back across the street and scaled the wall up to his bedroom window.

Once he was inside Isaac waited long enough for him to get downstairs casually before heading across the street to the somehow ominous door that seemed a lot bigger than it used to.

He didn’t even feel his feet moving as it got closer. _This is ridiculous_ , he thought to himself. _It’s just Scott’s mom, she’s not that scary. Who am I kidding she’ll kill me!_ He steadied himself and walked up the porch steps until he was ready to knock.

Slowly he raised his close fist and knocked on the hard wooden door. He heard Scott say ‘I’ll get it’ and rush to the door, opening it with an apologetic face and offered him his hand.

“Maybe not.” Isaac said, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

Scott took his hand anyway, giving it a slow squeeze and shooting him a smile. “It’s going to be fine.” He said softly and all Isaac wanted was to curl up in his bed wrapped up in his arms. “Besides, this is what you wanted remember.” He teased.

“Joking, now? Really?” Isaac asked.

“Come on.” Scott said, dropping his hand and turning to walk down the hall and back to his kitchen where Melissa was standing with her back to them, stirring on the stove.

He coughed a little and she turned slowly, straight faced and silent as she looked from one to the other.

“Uh… hey Mrs McCall.” Isaac said, his voice catching.

“Isaac… glad you could make it.” She said, her smile smaller than he was used to. “It’ll be ready in about fifteen.” She gestured to the stovetop.

“Thanks mom, we might just watch some TV – unless you need a hand in here.” Scott said.

“It’s okay, I’ve got things under control in here.” She nodded, turning back to the pot.

Scott quickly pulled Isaac by the sleeve and out of the kitchen. Once they were out of her earshot and well out of sight they let the air out of their lungs and plastered themselves against the living room wall.

“That was two seconds and it was impossible in there.” Isaac groaned. “Can we pretend that I never wanted you to tell her and just go back to making out on the couch secretly when she’s asleep?”

Scott laughed and turned to press his palms to either side of the wall beside Isaac and leant in to kiss him.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing? She is literally right there!” He hissed, pushing Scott back.

“Wait, just let go for a second, relax.” Scott whispered as his fingers brushed Isaac’s cheek.

He sighed as Scott leaned in to press his lips against the corner of his mouth. The soft velvet of his lips only just graced him with their presence and Isaac closed his eyes with a smile.

“You missed.” He breathed.

Scott chuckled, kissing him just above his chin. “Better?”

“Nope, you missed again.”

This time his lips found Isaac’s. He kissed him softly, slowly, Isaac’s eyes were still closed as he felt Scott part his lips and gently push his head back into the wall. His tongue etched a hot line on the underside of his top lip and Isaac felt the knots in his stomach begin to loosen. His hands shakily lifted to wrap around Scott’s waist and the familiar smell of arousal flooded the room.

“Hey!” He pushed him back, “You can't be _serious_.”

“You were probably right about the whole kissing thing.” He smirked.

“How are you so relaxed right now?” Isaac hissed, trying to push Scott away.

“I figure if she was that against the idea of you and me she would have kicked me out last night, she definitely wouldn’t have invited you over here. Not to mention the fact that she seems more… relaxed than I thought she would when you came in. Plus, I know it’s wrong but you actually look really sexy in that shirt.”

Isaac shook his head. “You’re sick, did you know that?” Scott laughed and released him from the wall. “Can we not think about this until later on, please? If I can smell it in the room it’s going to drive me crazy and I think I’m going crazy already just worried about having to go back in there.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll turn it off.” He leant in quick for a peck on the cheek. “I’m just trying not to freak out, you know, positivity and all that.”

“I know, and trust me when I say I would like nothing more than to have a regular night with you but we actually have to deal with this.” Isaac gave him a look and Scott sighed.

“If it’s absolutely necessary then you should know that I am totally freaking out on the inside, I mean you saw it on my face out there, but there’s no point freaking out anymore. It’s not like we can run.” He shrugged.

“Well we could.”

“Would you stop it? You’re going to make me start freaking out again. Don’t make me kiss you.” Scott said.

“Alright! Keep your lips to yourself please.”

“Okay, I promise, then tomorrow night I promise we can sit in bed back at your place and eat pizza and watch movies and you know, whatever else you want to do.” He took his hand and led him to the couch to sit down as they turned the TV on.

“Really, you’re still thinking about _that_?”

“Oh for god’s sake I’m just trying to make you calm down.” Scott said.

“You know what will make me calm down? Cartoons, that will calm me down.” He pointed to the television and Scott sat back, the nervous smell in the air not helping him hold it back.

He had hoped that acting positive or excited would make it better for Isaac, but he was still pretty worried. Scott put his hand on Isaac’s knee and looked over at him. Isaac could feel his eyes burning into the side of his face and shook his head.

“Would you stop it? You’re not helping.” He said, turning to look at him.

Scott mouthed the words ‘I love you’ and heard Isaac’s heartbeat slow a little before he turned back to the TV. Scott wasn’t really watching, he was just listening to his mother’s movements in the kitchen.

He heard her pull some plates out from the cupboard and looked over slightly to Isaac, knowing that he was going to jump when she –

“Boys! Dinner’s ready!”

He flinched hard and spun around to look at the doorway. Scott couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Relax, okay, it’s just a normal dinner, you’ve had dinners here before and it’s been fine.” He said as he stood up and offered Isaac his hand.

He took it and stood up beside him. “This is slightly different don’t you think?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Shut up and come on.” Scott said and they both walked towards the door, Isaac’s heartbeat rising again rapidly.

 

 

Stiles sat at home, one of the rare occasions where his father was home before eight at night. The two sat at the table in the kitchen playing chess and Stiles was trying as hard as possible to beat his father.

“I still don’t know why you bother thinking about it so hard.” The sheriff sat back in his chair and stared smugly down at his son as he leant his chin on the table and stared at the board. “You know you’re not going to beat me.”

“Yeah, yeah keep it down old man I’m in the zone right now.” Stiles said, staring the pieces down hard.

The sheriff chuckled. “Tell you what, the day you beat me is the day I buy you that brand new computer you’ve been pining over.”

“Yeah well get your bank account ready for it.” He replied, finally making a move.

His dad chuckled again and took less than a minute to counter.

“What? I worked ten minutes on that and you’ve already got a plan?”

“I’ve been playing this for a hell of a lot longer than you have son.” Stiles’ brow furrowed again and the sheriff smiled.

He loved the nights when he got to spend some time with his son. He knew that he would probably be off in an hour, out with Scott or Derek but it didn’t matter, so long as he had time to shoot down his confidence in a game of chess. He’ll never learn otherwise.

“Yeah well my youthful brain is a lot quicker.”

“Doesn’t make you better at the game, sometimes you need to look at it longer, think about all the pieces before you see everything.” He said. Stiles was still staring furiously at the board. “So don’t you have anything else to do tonight?”

Stiles shrugged. “Nah, not really. Might see Derek later on –”

“He going to be staying the night again?” He raised an eyebrow and Stiles made sure to avoid eye contact as his cheeks flushed pink.

“Maybe.” He muttered.

“Well what about Scott, what’s he doing tonight?”

This time Stiles smirked. “He’s having dinner with his mom and Isaac, he only just told her that they’re dating.”

The sheriff looked a little surprised. “Isaac and _Scott_?”

“You know you didn’t even sound surprised about Isaac.”

“Yeah well… have you seen the way he’s been dressing now that it’s getting colder? I mean the jacket is one thing but the scarves?” Stiles chuckled.

“Yeah well I guess there’s something in the water.”

“You and Scott never…?”

“Oh, god, dad no!” Stiles said recoiling with a shiver. “He’s like my brother, I would never think of him that way.”

“You’d just think about guys who’ve got criminal records and used to have warrants out for their arrest on suspicion of murder?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah because that’s exactly the reason for it, I like the questionable past and who doesn’t like a bad boy?” He said sarcastically.

Stiles made his move and the sheriff countered. “Check.” He said.

Stiles stared frantically at the pieces and looked perplexed. “Seriously?”

“So how did Melissa take it?”

“Take what?” Stiles asked.

“The news that her son was…” He tried to find a fitting end to the sentence but Stiles butted in.

“Into tall blonde dudes with ridiculously good fashion sense?”

“Yeah, that.” He said, shaking his head at his son’s blatant words.

He shrugged, “From what I heard she didn’t really say anything, she just kind of stayed quiet and then told Scott that the three of them were going to have dinner. That’s just got to be _awkward_.” He said.

“More awkward than finding your son on the porch in the arms of a former suspect?”

Stiles blushed again. “Probably, I don’t know, it’s never really been awkward when Derek stays for dinner.”

“That’s probably because there have never been any secrets where he’s concerned. Like I said, you showed up at the door with marks all over your neck, you can't really hide that can you?”

Stiles felt a pang of guilt because of course there were still secrets, big fat werewolf secrets, but his dad was right, there was never much hiding from the rest of it.

“Yeah well it helped that you already suspected it, thank you very much.”

“What? You got me thinking about it that night I caught you and Scott outside that club.”

Stiles laughed. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”

“Not to mention the fact that you never really had any girlfriends…”

“Okay dad, thanks for that.”

The sheriff laughed and they both heard a knock at the door. “You want to go get that?” The sheriff asked.

“Why me? It’s still my turn and I’m thinking.” He said.

“Because it’s probably Derek, I don’t get visitors. And I don’t trust you alone with the board because you cheat.”

“I do not, how do I know you won't cheat?”

“I don’t need to cheat, I’m already winning.”

Stiles let out a grouching sound before pushing back his chair and walking to the door, opening it to see Derek standing there. He had a long sleeved button up on and black dress pants with surprisingly shiny shoes.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Stiles said immediately and Derek rolled his eyes.

“Are you going to let me in? Or even say hello?” He said.

Stiles grinned and leapt at him, forcing their lips together and causing Derek to stumble back a step and grab Stiles by the waist to steady them.

“Hello.” Stiles said with a smile when he had peeled their lips apart.

Derek just shook his head as Stiles took him by the hand and led him inside. As soon as they were in the kitchen he let go and headed straight back to the table and sat down in front of the board.

“Hey Derek, you look like you’re ready to go somewhere.” The sheriff said.

“Well I was going to see if I could steal him from you but if you’re busy then we can just do it another night.” Derek said.

“Oh believe me, we’re almost done.” He said dryly, smiling up at Derek as Stiles made another move.

“Ha!” He shouted as he moved his bishop three spaces upwards and to the left.

The sheriff stood up as he slid his castle down two spots and put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder as he said the words, “Check mate.” Stiles just gaped down at the board and Derek tried not to laugh so hard. “He’s all yours… if you can deal with his sore loser attitude.” He smiled.

Derek shrugged, “I’ve seen it all, I’m sure he won't be any worse than usual.”

The sheriff chuckled and gave Derek a swift clap on the shoulder as he headed out towards the living room. “Just let me know if you’re going to be home, otherwise… have fun.” He said to Stiles.

“I demand a rematch!”

“Have a good night Stiles.” He called from around the corner.

“Did you see that? Did you see how cocky he was when he won? God, he loves it, he just loves to rub it in.” He said, still trying to figure out where he went wrong.

“Maybe you should spend less time worrying about winning and more time trying to figure out how to play the game.” Derek said.

“Oh I know how to play the game… he just knows better.” He said.

“Come on then.” Derek tugged at the sleeve of his sweatshirt and Stiles stood up again.

“Where are we going?” He asked.

“First we’re going to put you in some decent clothes.” Derek said, still pulling him by his shirt, this time leading him up the stairs.

“So we’re not going to go back to yours to eat Chinese in bed?” He asked.

“If we were going to do that I wouldn’t get you to put clothes on would I?”

“No, usually you make me get out of them before we get anywhere near the bed.” He smirked and Derek threw him into his room roughly. “Easy there Sour wolf.”

“Put something half decent on.” He demanded.

“Okay, okay. Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” He walked over to the closet, hoping he had anything slightly civilised to wear.

“Out.”

“Someone’s cryptic tonight. By the way I let Isaac borrow one of your shirts.” He said.

“I know.” He growled. “Did it have to be the blue one?”

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, it did.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Well hurry up then.”

“Come on, just a little hint?” Stiles pleaded with a grin as he pulled his hoodie off and slipped his arms into a white button up.

“We’re going out to dinner, alright?” He said.

Stiles nodded, not wanting to make a big fuss but inside he was going wild _. Is Derek actually taking me on a real date? Could this be real or am I just dreaming right now_?

 

 

Isaac stomach was turning as he twisted the spaghetti around his fork, staring down at it intently. Scott sat to his left and Melissa sat across from them, the chillingly silent air seemed to howl through the small dining room.

“So Isaac…” He looked up at Melissa, feeling the sweat beading on his forehead. “When exactly did the two of you figure out these… mutual feelings for one another?”

Isaac took in a breath, “uh…” As he took a moment to try and recover his thoughts Scott put his hand on his knee, rubbing gently with his thumb and trying to slow Isaac’s heart. “Well, it kind of started – for me – as, well, as a wolf thing.” He swallowed hard.

“A wolf thing?” She asked, her eyes getting wide.

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to explain…”

“So you’re saying this is some kind of weird wolf phenomenon?”

“ _Mom_ , that’s not what he means.” Scott said, trying to give him mom the hint to stop sounding so aggressive.

“No, well, not the part where he’s… and I’m … not that part, just the initial… attraction part I guess.” He said, looking back down at his dinner.

Scott thought about it for a second and then looked back up at him. He couldn’t have been, not a trigger, could he? He knew what he felt for Isaac back then, and he knew that it had gotten even stronger that night that they had said that they loved one another but could that have been the seal of a trigger bond?

Isaac’s eyes darted up to meet his and the look said it all. He hadn’t told him that he had been a trigger, he knew that Scott hadn’t felt the same way about it, he knew that he had been on the receiving end and didn’t want to mar the budding relationship. Isaac could remember all of the things that Stiles and Derek had to argue about in the beginning because of that tiny detail and he didn’t want Scott and him to end up bickering about it but he couldn’t pretend that he hadn’t felt that impossible pull, that irrevocable need and lust that led to something more.

Scott thought about it to himself. Could that have been why he had been drawn to him? In some way could it have been mutual? Could the wolf that lived inside of him have been pining for Isaac, could it sense the bond that was waiting to be sealed?

He felt an incredible urge to grab Isaac by the sides of his face and pull him in for a hungry kiss, to lose himself in the ecstasy that it was to touch him and just forget about everything else. Somehow doing that with his mother less than three feet from them wouldn’t have gone down well.

“Well what does that mean?” Melissa asked, slightly confused.

“I’ll explain it later mom, it’s called a trigger.” Scott said and Isaac let out a small sigh of relief.

“Right… wolf thing, I get it.” She said, going back to eating in silence for another few mouthfuls.

Isaac’s hunger had seemed to come back a little, or maybe it had just got to the point where the food was smelling too good to let it go to waste. He even plucked up the courage to compliment Mrs McCall on her cooking. She looked up at him for a moment before a small smile appeared and she thanked him.

By the time they had all finished Scott helped her gather the dishes but she took them out of his hands and headed straight through the door and into the kitchen to clean up. That’s when Isaac finally took a breath and let his shoulders drop.

“Hey…” Scott said softly, turning sideways in his chair to stroke Isaac’s arm, then his cheek, tilting his chin upward. “It’s going pretty well, at least I thought so anyway.” He gave him a warm smile and Isaac’s eyes looked tired.

“Well it’s not a train wreck.” He said as he leaned into Scott’s comforting hand. “I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the whole trigger thing earlier I just-”

Scott leant in, his lips lightly brushing against Isaac’s with a smile that he couldn’t put away. He felt Isaac’s fingers lightly wrap around his wrist before he pulled back, staring into his perfectly human eyes before they flashed a bright golden yellow. He felt his own flash an identical shade and they both smiled before sharing another quick kiss.

Melissa was about to head back in and ask Scott for help with the dishes but stopped when she realised she could see through the crack in the door.

She felt something inside her melt as she saw the way they looked at one another. A smile tempted her lips and she leant against the frame as she watched Scott gently stroke Isaac’s knee to calm him down and the way they exchanged loving glances and she could just see that the two of them had something special.

She remembered a time that she herself had been like that, her marriage hadn’t started as a failure. Everything she could see, all of it was the last thing that she had thought about when Scott had told her that they were together. She didn’t even know what it was that she had thought about it but she knew what she thought about it now.

“Scott?” She called and he jumped up. “Can you give me a hand in here?” She turned and walked back into the kitchen and stood by the sink.

“I’ll be back in a second.” He whispered to Isaac before getting up to see his mom. “Yeah mom, I’m coming.”

As he walked into the kitchen Isaac strained his ears to hear everything.

Scott walked in to see his mom smiling at him as she leant on the sink. “What’s going on?” He asked, suspicious of her newly friendly behaviour.

“Scott, I’m sorry.” She said and he raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry I acted like this was something I couldn’t handle, I just – you took me by surprise there.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you… I just, I had enough trouble admitting it to myself let alone telling you. I didn’t want to disappoint you.” He said.

“Oh sweetheart…” She walked over to him, closing the gap between them and wrapping her arms around him. “You could never disappoint me with something like this. I can see how much he means to you, even before you told me I knew that you were close friends… I mean he’s practically lived with us on and off the last few months. I’m just glad you’re happy.” She put a hand to his cheek and smiled at him so brightly that he knew she meant it and he felt a weight lift off of him.

“I thought you were mad.”

“No, not at all, you just need to give me some time to adjust to the whole thing. I mean that’s a lot to drop on someone in one go.” She said with a smile. “And then there’s the fact that he’s been living here and I can't even start wrapping my head around that one yet-”

“Okay, mom, that’s getting a little awkward.” He said and she laughed.

“Just, don’t think that I’m going to look at you any different. You’re my son, and I love you no matter who you love, and you know I think the world of Isaac.”

“I love you mom.” He said with a smile and she pulled him into her arms again.

“I love you too Scott.” She squeezed him hard before letting out a chuckle. “Now maybe I should go and apologise for being so cold to Isaac in there, I just didn’t know exactly where to start talking. The poor kid looks absolutely terrified.”

“He can hear you mom.” He said and Isaac stood in the doorway, still looking awkward but slightly less nauseous.

“Hey Mrs McCall.” He said slowly.

She tilted her head with a smile. “Come here, come on, get into it.” She said, laughing to break the awkward tension.

He walked over slowly and she pulled him into her, still awkwardly but Scott and Isaac gave one another smiles because they knew that this step was behind them.

“Now boys…” Melissa said, releasing them both and putting her hands on her hips. “I think I still need to tell you to make sure you’re safe when-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay mom, thanks we got it, can I please do some dishes or something?” Scott said, turning a brighter red than Isaac had ever seen.

“That would be great and Isaac, you can get the ice cream out and get us all a bowl because you both are too young to drink and this works just as well. I’m going to have a drink though because I didn’t think we were going to make it through that dinner.” She said and Isaac actually managed to laugh as he headed for the freezer, suddenly very hungry.

 

 

“Are we there yet?”

“Would you shut up? You’re like a child.”

Derek shook his head as Stiles took the opportunity to tease him on their drive.

“Well you won't tell me where exactly we’re going so how am I supposed to know when we’re there?” He said.

“We’re there right about now so shut your mouth.” Derek growled as they pulled up in the parking lot of one of the restaurants in the centre of Beacon Hills. “You said you wanted an actual date right?”

Stiles was grinning from ear to ear as they got out of the car and headed towards the door. Derek wouldn’t take his hand or even look at him all that much as they talked to the woman at the desk and she led them to a quiet booth towards the back. He did however agree to playing footsies under the table.

“So, this is kind of like our first real date.” Stiles said.

“Can you get that stupid smile off your face?” Derek said.

“Hey, you brought me here, you should have known that I would behave like this.” He said, leaning back in the seat.

“I did.” Derek held out his hand on the table and Stiles slipped his into it easily, relishing the quiet brush of Derek’s thumb over his fingertips.

“Okay, you win.” He said softly, just wanting to kiss him for doing this. “Thank you.”

Derek gave him a warm smile, one of the ones that made Stiles’ heart flutter and his affections grow stronger.

“There’s something else…”

“Oh god, here we go…” Stiles said, waiting for the kick.

“You said that you didn’t know me, you said you wanted me to open up.”

“I know and I shouldn’t have-”

“ _Stiles_ , could you maybe try learning to listen?” Derek said with a sigh and he nodded. “Well… you’re right.” He said, looking away.

“I am?”

“I know, hard to believe.”

“Ha, ha, you’re funny.”

“I’m saying that if you want to know something then just ask, now. If you want to know something I’ll tell you.”

Stiles’ jaw dropped, unable to believe what Derek was saying. “Derek you don’t-”

“Before I change my mind, I’ll tell you what you want to know. I know that’s important to you. So go on, ask me anything.” Derek’s eyes were sincere, blazon with vulnerability as he laid himself bare for Stiles to take the things that he wanted.

It had taken a long time but he finally felt ready to let parts of himself out and Stiles was the one he wanted to share them with… eventually, if he could get over his shock and say something.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

_Stiles –_

 

Holy shit; did he just say what I thought he said? No, wait maybe, wait yes! Is this actually happening? If it is, where do I start? There are so many things that I want to know about him, I want to know it all. I don’t think one dinner will cover it but if he’s in the mood to talk now it’s the first time I’ve seen it since we got together. Who knows when it will happen again?

He was looking over at me expectantly, actually kind of amused with that half smile on his lips. “This would be the part where you say something.” He said.

“You realise the power you’re giving me right? I mean my head just literally exploded inside.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Okay well let me give you some ground rules.”

“There it is, I knew there’d be a catch.” I mumbled.

“I’ll answer anything you ask but I’m not going to do it all night. When I say stop that’s it.” He said and I shrugged a little. “And then I get to ask you a few things.” He said, like he had some big bad questions up his wolfy sleeve.

“Dude, deal.” I said and he rolled his eyes with a smile, turning away.

He was still holding my hand, stroking it softly and had his feet pressed up against mine under the table. There was something different about him, something I hadn’t seen before but I liked it. He wasn’t being bossy and domineering, he was just being… himself. I mean, maybe it was himself, maybe it was someone else, who he wanted to be. I don’t know.

I don’t even think he knows. Maybe I should start with something like that. This is ridiculous, I should just be able to ask him something without overanalysing it. I guess I just don’t want to waste a miracle moment like this one on stupid questions.

Our moment was broken when the waitress flounced over to the table. “Hey I’m Jess and I’ll be your server this evening, can I get you any drinks or starters?” She said with a smile.

I saw her eyes dart to our hands entwined on the table and then back to our faces, trying not to stare.

“I’ll just grab a whiskey and coke thanks.” Derek said with a charming smile.

“Me too.” I made a clicking sound with the corner of my mouth and Derek laughed.

“He’ll have a coke.” He said and she nodded, writing it down and bouncing away. “I’m not getting you drunk in the middle of a restaurant in the town where your father is the sheriff.” He said.

“I bet you can't say that ten times fast.” I said.

“Shut up Stiles.” He smiled.

I guess this is my moment, what the hell should I ask him? “Okay if you hadn’t said that I would totally be asking what the hell you’d done with Derek.”

“You know if you wanted to ask me anything now would be the time to do it.” Derek seemed actually kind of amused at the whole thing. “When she clears the plates from our main meal I’m going to stop answering your questions, I know they’re in there.”

I smiled, biting down on my lip. “Hey, I don’t want to mess this up, alright? Just give me a few minutes to think this through.” He laughed to himself and when I should have been thinking of questions I was stupidly distracted by his perfect smile.

Maybe I should ask him how he keeps his teeth so god damn white.

Jess came back with our drinks and asked about entrée but Derek gave her a charming look and told her to give us a few more minutes to decide. When she was gone he tilted his head and looked over expectantly. Okay, running out of time here and you still haven’t asked him anything Stiles, come on.

I don’t know why but suddenly I just stared rolling off a whole lot of completely pathetic questions like we were on some crappy daytime quiz show.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

“Green.”

“Favourite song?”

He shrugged. “Don’t really have one.”

“Book then?”

“White Fang.”

“Nice Derek, nice. What’s your favourite thing to do in bed?”

“I’ll show you later.”

“Good answer. What did you always want to be when you grew up?”

He smiled over at me and then looked away. “The sheriff.” He said.

“What? Why?” I asked, really not expecting _that_ answer.

“I don’t know, ask your dad why he wanted to be sheriff.” He said with a shrug.

“Fair call.” I said, thinking that maybe I should actually go and do that because I don’t think I ever have.

“Stiles?”

“What?”

“Why don’t you just ask me the thing you really want to ask me?” He said, his features soft, waiting for me to ask him something he can actually answer.

And then I figured something out; the whole ‘I know you want me to tell you about me’ deal is true but I think he also kind of _wants_ to tell me too. I mean that would explain the terrified look on his face.

I sighed. “Anyone would think you actually wanted me to know you Derek.” I said softly.

His gaze bore into mine and I swallowed, his eyes tracing the lines on my face down to my throat, watching the jugular pump quickly under my skin. The hand holding mine turned my wrist up and pulled it towards him as he leant down to put his lips to it.

“I’m not good at saying things Stiles…” He said, sitting back up and looking over at me.

“I know Derek,” I nudged my shoulders up a little. “You don’t have to be.”

“So ask me something already.” He said, not able to say the thing that he was actually thinking.

Every time he says ‘I love you’ it’s like pulling teeth. It’s like he physically has trouble doing it. Good thing he has this look in his eyes that says it for him.

Anyway, I should probably ask him something, he seems anxious to start talking which is like, just short of a miracle. And I do have a question hanging around, one that I’ve kind of thought about for a long time but never really asked, and I don’t think he’ll see it coming.

“What was Laura like?” I asked and he narrowed his eyes, looking at me in a confused manner.

“That’s… an interesting question.” He said slowly.

“Hey, you said you’d answer anything and I kind of always wanted to know.” I shrugged.

He nodded and let out a sigh as he thought about her. “Well, before everything happened she was… I mean I’ve never met anyone who comes close to the way she was. I guess she was sort of like my mother. She was always laughing or singing or trying to protect me from things that I really didn’t need protecting from.” I saw his eyes shining, glittering in the romantic lighting and I realised I had never known just how much he had cared about her. I was always thinking about how he buried her outside his house, half of her anyway. Even after being together all this time I never thought about how much he could have cared about her but now, I can see it. “We used to joke about how I was her favourite in the family, and the other way round, I could always talk to her when something was wrong. She just… she had the capacity to be so brimming with laughter and then when it mattered she would come down and just…” He smiled, the kind of smile that I rarely see him wear and it hurt to watch it fade as the glittering in his eyes disappeared. “After it all she was different. We both were. She didn’t laugh any more. She didn’t dance… suddenly she was the alpha of a pack that didn’t even exist. I never saw the Laura that I grew up with after that day. She burned down in that house.”

“So what was she like after?” I said softly.

“Colder. Determined to make us both move on and forget. Somehow it made her stronger. If it weren’t for her I don’t know where I would be.” The sadness in his eyes made my whole body ache. “She saved me from a lot of things, made me promise that nothing would ever make me weak again.”

“You miss her don’t you?” I said softly.

“Yes.” He said after a moment of thought. “She was everything I had left.”

“What were the others like?”

He looked up with a tilted head, “the others?”

“Your family, what were they like?” I still felt like I was treading on shaky ground. He didn’t really say much and before I got the chance to say anything the damn waitress was back for our order.

Derek slipped back into his charming mode easily and that was kind of scary but at least he didn’t bite her head off because I was bringing up his family. We ordered and she left, and so it was back to the slightly awkward silence we had left.

“Why all the questions about my family?” He asked.

I shrugged. “Well, I’m not going to get the chance to meet them, I want to know about them. I mean, your mom is supposed to be this amazing woman that everyone somehow knows and I want to know why, and you went through a hell of a lot with Laura. Then there’s your dad who I’ve never heard anything about and I don’t even know if there were any others… just tell me about them, all of them.”

He just stared back at me, I could see the thoughts swilling through his mind like fish in a crowded pond. He was letting it all back in, the things he’d tried to forget because… because what? _Made me promise that nothing would ever make me weak again_ … Oh, that.

“Derek if you think this was a mistake then-”

“My dad…” He started, shutting me up pretty darn fast. “My dad wasn’t like the rest of us. Three kids and not one was human like him. I think he actually liked it that way.” His eyes were distant but he seemed to be letting his memories in willingly, smiling a little. It was mesmerising. “Most of his arguments with my mother were about how he could never win arguments, and sometimes he just didn’t understand it all but he never would have given it up. Not for anything.

“He didn’t want to be like us though, so for a while when we were little he had to keep his distance. Teething was an interesting time. I know I got bitten a number of times by my little sister.” I gave him a look, little sister? I didn’t know he had a little sister too. “Cora, she’d probably be about your age now if…” He sighed but shook it off. “She was only a kid… she was a bit of a firecracker too, but she was my dad’s favourite. Mostly, she was his favourite because she was so feisty and cheeky, I was the favourite because I was his only son, and Laura, well she reminded him of mom and he always said that one day he hoped to see her become just as much of a leader as she was.

“She did, he just never saw it. Laura and my mother were different from me and Cora and Peter, from everyone. My mother could turn into a wolf, a real wolf. It was rare and that’s why so many others like me knew about her. They sought her out for advice and sometimes they thought she was destined to be something more, I don’t know.” I don’t even know if he can stop everything coming out of his mouth now, it seems to be pouring out, like I'm not even here, like he’s just thinking it all through in his mind. “After the fire Laura slowly figured out that she could do it too. I think she always knew, she just didn’t want to have that on her shoulders. She did the same thing that I did for a while and blocked it all out because the memory was… back to the rest of them-”

“Derek… you know you don’t have to keep going.” I said, taking my hand and stroking his arm with it, still holding his tightly with the other. “I get it… really I do.”

He smiled slightly, sliding his foot up and down my calf to let me know that we were on the same page. I saw him turn his head quickly and let go of my hand. I was about to question when I saw the waitress appear with our food in hand.

Crap, have we really been here long enough to have our food already? I’m running out of time. I can see he’s already shutting off and I know he can't help it, that I went in with the big guns probably contributed to that.

We thanked the waitress and started our meals. I don’t know how, but Derek is sexy even when he eats. The way he moves his fork, the way he licks his lips after a bite, everything just makes me want to keep watching him.

“Maybe you should stop staring and get to eating.” He mumbled through a mouthful of spaghetti, still sexy.

“Oh no, the longer this plate is on the table the longer I have to keep you talking.” I said, taking a bite out of my bread roll.

“Well get on with it.”

I thought about asking him about Paige, I really, really wanted to but maybe I should quit with the traumatising past questions and ask him something that won't make him want to shut down and run away.

“What’s the best memory you have?” I asked, knowing that it would probably still head down the traumatising path.

“Of what?” He asked.

“Of what – of anything Derek, just something great that you can remember, but not about me because I know all of that stuff.” He laughed and I took another bite of my food as he thought about it.

“Do you mean-”

“For god’s sake Derek anything, whatever the hell comes to mind when I say ‘great memory’. I just want to hear about _something_.”

He shook his head and took another bite, still thinking. I personally think he’s just biding his time so he can avoid my future questions. Freaking sour wolf.

After his ridiculously long mouthful was done he looked up and I gave him a glance that said ‘well?’ and he smiled.

“It was one of our camping trips. I know I told you that we used to go.” I nodded so he continued. “Well, me and Laura had gone down to the creek, about ten minutes’ walk from the site, and met Peter, then someone suggested we go and get Cora. I think I was about twelve, she was only five and I was the one who had to go back and get her. She was asleep in her tent and as I walked in my mom and dad were just… dancing, slow dancing in the trees, no music, just laughing and dancing. They didn’t even see me. I don’t know why but I watched them for a while. They were so… something.

“I went and got Cora and she was grumpy at first but then she was so happy because we were older and including her and she woke up slowly as I carried her back. When we got there Laura and Peter were just lying in the grass, heads next to one another staring up into the trees. I lay with them and Cora curled up next to me.

“All we did was talk, I can't even remember what it was about but… that’s the memory that I thought of.” He said.

I seriously just want to pull him into my arms and hug him right now. I have never seen Derek like this, and I doubt I’ll ever see this Derek again.

“Your best memory includes Peter?” I asked, a small smile creeping onto my lips.

He chuckled. “The Peter you know now and the Peter I knew back then isn’t the same person. Trust me, he was much different when we were younger.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“You’re going to have to.”

We sat in silence for a little longer as we continued to eat, another question playing on my mind.

“So… do you, uh, do you ever think about, I don’t know…”

“What is it Stiles?” He asked softly.

I looked up at him from under my lashes and looked down at my food, pushing the last few bits around the plate. “It’s nothing I mean… do you ever think about having a family of your own?”

I didn’t look up, I didn’t want to look up. Man, I can't believe I just asked him that. Now he’s going to think I’m some kind of… god I don’t even know. I felt him reach out to me again, stilling my hand from fidgeting and forcing me to look up into his eyes.

“Why are you asking that?” He asked slowly.

He didn’t seem like he was going to run, not angry or cold, just genuinely curious as to why I asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, I mean we’ve talked about your family and stuff and I just wondered if one day you ever wanted to… start your own. Is that so hard to fathom that the conversation would move from that to this?”

He laughed quietly and looked away, I’m not sure if he believes me but I don’t know what else to say. I saw him contemplate the idea, I watched his face change as he thought it over and oh my god was it driving me mad.

“Seriously Derek is it that hard a question?” I said, slightly involuntarily.

“No.” he said flatly.

I just looked up at him. “What? No it’s not a hard question or no you never think of it?”

“I don’t think of it.”

“Well if you were to think of it…”

“No.” He said, his eyes somehow colder.

What does that mean? “No what?”

“No, I don’t want to. If I think about it, that’s my answer.” I’m not sure why it made my heart sink, but it did.

I made sure my voice was steady before I said anything, I didn’t want him to think – hell, I don’t even know what I’m thinking. “Just straight up no? Like you never wanted to… have kids or get married or I don’t know, buy a house in the suburbs and get a dog?”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “A dog? Really?”

“That wasn’t the main point of what I just said Derek and you know it.” I snapped.

He looked taken aback and I dropped my fork onto the plate, pushing it away from me because I was done playing with my food. I don’t know why I said that so forcefully, I don’t know why any of this is coming as a shock to me or why I’m reacting so badly but for some reason; I am.

“Okay…” He said slowly. “Once, once I thought about it, but that was a long time ago. My thoughts and plans have changed since then. I have a pack now.”

I fought back the urge to scoff at him. “You have a pack now? And what happens if you meet someone who doesn’t?”

“Stiles… I don’t know what you want me to say… do you-”

“Oh my god, I’m seventeen years old do you really think – I’m not thinking about that, not yet.” I said.

“Well if you were to think of it…” He said, copying my earlier ploy.

“If I were to think of it then yeah, I would like to think that there was something else in my future other than… I don’t know, okay, I don’t think about it and that’s my point but I’m not saying that I never want something… _else_.”

Yeah, good work Stiles, because that didn’t sound ridiculous or stupid or anything else.

He nodded quietly. “It’s just where I stand, that’s all.” I nodded back in response and he looked almost lost, like he didn't think I was going to go all crazy on him.

Hell, I didn’t even know that. I laughed a little awkwardly. “Well, that was fun. Sorry about the snapping and-”

“I don’t want you to apologise. We aren’t going to agree on everything.”

I snorted. “Derek we don’t agree on anything.”

A smiled crossed his lips. “That’s not true.”

I laughed, he’s a sour wolf most of the time, but he has his moments.

“Did you enjoy your meals?” I jumped as the waitress came to collect our plates.

Wait, no, not yet! I still have so many questions.

“It was beautiful, thanks.” Derek smiled up at her and she gave him one in return as she took them away.

“So what did you and Laura do when you left Beacon Hills?” I asked, hoping he had forgotten his earlier terms and conditions.

“I don’t think so. You know what I said earlier.” He said with a cheeky smile that I just wanted to punch of his smug little face.

He handed me a dessert menu and I snatched it away as all these perfect questions came popping into my head.

“That was when you had your little experimental phase wasn’t it? How many drugs _did_ you do?” He just shook his head. “Wait, did you experiment with other things too? You ever been with another guy?” He looked up with a smile that made me wish I could read minds for just the next five minutes. “Wait come on, please? Just one more?”

“You’ll have to settle with not knowing intimate details of the things I did back when I was single.” He said.

“So is that a yes, you have been with another guy?” I asked and he just laughed.

“Pick something you want for dessert.” He said, staring down at the menu with a smile.

I exaggerated my movements and huffed about a bit as I opened the menu to read it and pretended not to see Derek’s ridiculously perfect smile from behind his.

We picked out our food and Derek was back to holding my hand by the time the menus had been taken back and he was giving me this look. I don’t like it. I don’t know what it means.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked.

“I said you could ask me anything, and you did, and I answered-”

“Most of them you did.” I mumbled.

“I gave you my terms, you could have asked me that first.” He smiled. “Well now I have things that I want to ask you.”

“Well don’t expect it to be like pulling teeth because I don’t have anything that I need to hide.” I said.

“I’ve only got two things that I want to ask.” He said.

“Well you better do it quick because if she clears our plates before you ask one then you’re asking for trouble.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Two questions, that’s all.”

“Go on then.”

“Why do you keep pretending that things aren’t going to change next year?” He asked.

“What? I’m not doing that, change how?” I asked.

“Well, no one can really bring up college without you making a fuss and changing the subject. Why don’t you want to talk about it?” He asked.

“I have talked about it, I talked about it with Erica.”

“So talk about it with me now.” He said, almost growling.

“What is there to talk about? It’s a long way away.”

“Colleges start opening their doors to prospective students in the New Year. That’s only a few months away Stiles.”

“God, you sound like my dad.” I grunted.

“Do you know what you want to do when you leave high school?”

“I have ideas but I also have time.”

“That doesn’t answer the question as to why you keep pushing it away.”

“No, but it does answer your other related questions.”

“Well I didn’t want answers to those, not as much.”

“Everything changes next year, okay?” I blurted and he stopped talking. “We all go to different colleges and everyone keeps talking about what they want to do and where they want to go and no one is actually saying anything about how that means that we scatter and things change. I don’t know where Scott’s going or what he wants to do… hell he’ll be able to get a scholarship to any school for lacrosse now that he’s the star. He might want to leave, I might want to leave. We all might.”

“That’s what happens Stiles.” He said.

“I know but it’s just a lot to take in right now and it sort of came running in really quickly and next thing I know we’ll be passing the finish line and … then what?” I sighed.

“Then you figure out what comes next.”

“I guess so.” I said.

His foot was rubbing my leg again, warm and comforting and god I hate how he does that, but I don’t want him to stop.

“So you had two questions, what was the second?” I asked.

He looked down and cleared his throat a little before looking back up. “You promise you’ll answer me, honestly?”

“Yeah Derek I promise, okay, what’s with all the faces?” I pointed to the almost nervous look in his eyes and he sighed.

“I want – I want to ask you why… why you blame yourself for your mother’s death?” He said.

And I just sat there, my jaw dropped, absolutely dumbfounded.

 

 

* * *

 

It had gotten to be pretty late and Melissa had retired to bed for the night, more or less mentally drained from a dinner she won't soon forget. Scott was elated, finally feeling free to be with who he wanted, no more secrets. Isaac was mainly relieved that he hadn’t been given a few harsh words from Mrs McCall, she could actually be pretty terrifying.

The pair sat on the couch, the television on but neither of them watching. Scott had his chest tightly against Isaac’s, hands cupping his square jaw as their tongues thrashed together. Isaac let himself taste every inch of Scott’s mouth, running his tongue along the inside of his top lip before Scott took his bottom lip between his teeth, tugging gently and causing Isaac to groan loudly.

He pulled back, pushing Scott off him as he tried to catch his breath.

“As much as I really, really want to do this, I don’t think I’m going to be able to do it _here_ for a while yet.” He said.

“Scott grunted. “Oh come on, she’s asleep, and we don’t have to do it here… we can go up to my room.” He grinned.

“This is all coming from the guy who wouldn’t even let me _blow_ him in the kitchen, when his mom _wasn’t_ home.” Isaac teased.

“Come on… I’ll be really quiet.” He whispered as he nipped at Isaac’s ear.

“I seriously doubt that.” Isaac smirked and shoved him back, forcing him to stop his tantalising assault. “Not here.” He said firmly.

Scott sighed, rolling his eyes a little as he sat back, trying to think about anything other than the fact that the room was just dripping with the scent of arousal. He closed his eyes for a second, breathing slowly and a smile played over Isaac’s lips.

“Although…” He began and Scott looked over with a grin. “Derek did take Stiles out tonight, odds are they won't be back for another hour or so at least.”

Scott’s grin got wider and they were out the door in seconds. The two of them hopped onto the back of the bike and Scott drove them – possibly a little too fast – to the loft.

“So you’re sure they aren’t here?” Scott purred against the flushed skin on Isaac’s neck as he stood behind him in the lift, pulling his hips back slowly.

“Did you see a big black Camaro out there?” He said, his eyes rolling shut as his body reacted to the things Scott was doing to him.

“I wasn’t really looking at the cars.” He said as the doors opened to the living room.

He grabbed Isaac’s wrist, dragging him towards the stairs.

“You know we don’t have to do it in bed, they’ll be gone long enough.” Isaac said, pulling Scott away from the stairs and roughly into his arms for a kiss.

Scott growled playfully, his hands slipping down Isaac’s back and down to his ass, giving it a squeeze as he held him close. “Maybe, I never said we had to do it in bed, I just don’t want to be down here and halfway through when they get back…” Isaac was about to say that they would be able to hear them coming but Scott wrapped his fingers in the mess of his curls and pulled his head back so that his hot breath fanned over his face. “… because when I start fucking you I’m not going to stop until you’re a hot shaky mess and can't even remember your own name.” He breathed in a dry rasp.

Isaac felt his stomach flip, his heart pound and his jeans grow impossibly tight.

“Who are you and what have you done with Scott?” He breathed.

“What? You don’t like the plan?” Scott rumbled.

“Oh I do, that’s why you should get your ass up those stairs right fucking now.” He growled back.

Scott smiled, taking him by the wrists again and dragging him up to Isaac’s room, not even bothering to shut the door before throwing him against the wall and running a hand down his chest. He slipped a finger under Isaac’s belt and gave it a tug.

“Not much room to breathe.” He said with a raise of his eyebrow.

“You want to help me out there then?” Isaac said, panting audibly.

Scott slowly pulled the buckle out, slipping it through the loops and dropping it to the floor.  He got down on his knees, licked his lips as he stared at the large bulge struggling in its sheath. He knew these jeans, he had taken them off many times and when his fingers found the button it came undone easily for him, just as Isaac was beginning to do.

He had his head back rested against the wall, forehead beading with sweat as Scott took his time.

“ _Oh_ … seriously Scott what are you doing down there?” Isaac said, his body aching for Scott’s hands to reach out and touch him.

Scott just smiled to himself as he pulled the jeans around Isaac’s ankles and he kicked them away quickly.

“You’re so impatient.” He purred.

Isaac let out a low whine as Scott’s hands brushed his thighs, fingertips slipping just under the bottom of his boxers. He hooked them in, slowly pulling them down, even the feel of the fabric pulling over him made Isaac’s breathing get faster.

It took no time at all before he was kicking them away to join his jeans and his cock was springing to attention, standing erect just inches from Scott’s damp lips. Isaac put one hand on the side of Scott’s head but he just took him by the wrist again and Isaac stared down at him.

“Why are you stopping?” He asked.

“If I remember correctly I haven’t even started yet.” Scott said with a smirk.

“Yeah well why have you stopped before you had the chance?”

“I want to hear you beg.” He said.

Isaac whimpered. “Really Scott? Can you just please…” He pushed his hips out a little but Scott used his free hand to push them back down.

“That’s the spirit.”

“You just wait; I am going to fucking _kill_ you when I get down there.” He groaned.

Scott chuckled. “Can’t wait, but I still don’t hear what I want.”

He let his tongue brush over one of Isaac’s fingers and heard him let out a needy moan. He slowly took it into his mouth, hollowing out his cheeks and swirling his tongue, his eyes staring upwards at Isaac who was biting his lip hard.

“ _Fuck_ … Scott _please_ …” He breathed.

The hand that wasn’t being tortured by Scott’s mouth was balled into a fist and his hard on was painfully aching as it was being neglected and ignored.

“What do you want? Come on Isaac just tell me.” Scott breathed.

“Put your _fucking mouth_ on me… or your hand… or anything just _touch me_ … please Scott this is me begging.” He whined. “Come on Scott you have no idea how much I want you… how much I need you right now just _please_.” He took his free hand and wrapped it around his length for just a moment before Scott was batting it away.

“I didn’t say you could do that.” He growled.

“Dare you to make me stop.” Scott grinned, parting his lips and taking the tip of Isaac’s cock in his mouth to which he elicited an electrified groan. “Holy fuck… _yes_ …” He breathed as Scott drew back with his lips, slowly at first and then picking up the pace and making Isaac resist the urge to buck into him.

“You know you really do have the dirtiest mouth when you’re in the mood.” Scott smirked, pulling away only for a second before he was lowering his lips further down Isaac’s shaft and this time he didn't resist.

Isaac urged his hips forward and Scott grunted at the quick movement but soon picked up a pace, taking a firm hold of Isaac’s ass as he guided his thrusts along with him. Isaac’s hands tangled in his hair as he struggled to stay standing.

His loud moans began to get more frantic, the warm feeling building in his stomach and beginning to spread. “Scott…” He breathed.

He pulled his swollen red lips away and stood up, roughly taking Isaac’s face in his hands and kissing him wildly. Isaac’s shaking hands fumbled with Scott’s belt but it was soon enough undone and as he pulled his jeans down Scott tore his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. As Isaac lifted his fingers to unbutton the shirt Scott took his hands and placed them flat against his waist.

“Leave it on.” He said huskily.

“You know this thing you have about me in button up shirts is kind of ridiculous.” Isaac said, grinning but leaning in to ravish Scott’s neck with his lips.

“Oh yeah like your thing for me leaving my jeans on when we have a quick fuck before school isn’t?” He smirked.

“Now who’s the dirty one?” Isaac moaned into Scott’s neck, leaving fading purple bruises that had Scott digging his fingernails into Isaac’s skin.

“You _fucking_ love it.” He said, grabbing him back by the shirt and pushing him to the bed.

As he descended on him he opened the drawer by the bed and pulled out a condom and the familiar cylindrical bottle. Isaac parted his legs to let Scott crawl between them before he poured some of the slippery liquid onto two of his fingers, getting one of Isaac’s legs up over his shoulder.

Reaching down his fingers found Isaac’s tight hole and slowly rubbed against it, making Isaac grip the sheets tightly. Scott loved watching his body squirm under his hands and gently pushed the end of his finger inside him. He chuckled as Isaac pushed himself back onto him.

“You like that.” Scott’s voice vibrated in the space between them as Isaac nodded silently.

He added another finger, slowly working him open until his own cock was leaking pre come at the sight before him. He pulled himself away only so that he could slide the condom down over his length, breathing hard as he slicked himself up.

He went to push Isaac’s ankle off his shoulder but he stopped him. “Leave it, I can take it.” He said breathlessly.

It was enough to make Scott forget about his plan to tease him, the last bit of restraint in his body was used up on trying to ease himself slowly into Isaac, the both of them letting out strangled groans as Scott inched his way inside. Trying not to hurt him he gave slow thrusts as he leant in to meet his lips, kissing him with a closed mouth and his moans still escaping.

He worked his hips faster, switching between quick hard strokes and long drawn out ones that made Isaac’s eyes roll back into his head every time. A single curl was painted to his forehead with sweat and his hand gripped the back of Scott’s neck as he set fire to every part of his body he touched.

Back to quick strides, Scott rested his elbow in the bed and Isaac groaned as the angle got even better, only just scraping the spot that was begging, mercilessly, for Scott to hit. Scott could feel the pressure building inside him and lifted his body upright, kneeling on the bed and swinging Isaac’s other let up onto his shoulder, tilting his hips and thrusting manically.

“Yes… _oh fuck_ … _oh god Scott_ …” Isaac almost yelled as Scott hit the mark, perfectly and sending waves of pleasure through him with each quick thrust.

He continued to involuntarily moan his name as his orgasm broke, ripping through him and surging through his blood like an inferno. Scott took only a few more strides before he was coming, his knees barely able to hold as his whole body shook. With the waves of pleasure still washing over him, he pulled out of Isaac and collapsed against him, not caring about the warm sticky liquid that had pooled in the lines of Isaac’s chest.

He kissed Isaac in a way that was more just the acknowledgement of ones lips against the other for a fleeting moment before he rolled onto his back, panting furiously.

“Shit Isaac… that was….” He panted, unable to even explain how amazing it was.

Isaac chuckled giddily. “Who’s Isaac?”

Scott laughed and turned his head to look at him. He reached out to take his hand and Isaac looked over lazily.

“I love you, you know.” Scott said softly.

Isaac managed a smirk. “After that, you’d better.”

Scott laughed again and wondered how he could top a night like this before realising that as long as Isaac was there, he would.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Stiles gaped over at Derek as if he’d just got up onto the table and taken his pants off right there and then. Had he heard correctly?

“What?” He choked out in a dry breathless yelp. “Why would you think that?”

Derek tilted his head to the side. “You promised you would tell me the truth.” He said

Stiles scoffed a few times, completely taken aback by Derek’s question. “Well I would if there was any truth to it. I don’t blame myself.” He said, feeling a heat wash over him that was making him start to get very uncomfortable.

“Stiles, you talk in your sleep sometimes, and I can tell that you’re lying just by listening to your heart. I think you should probably just have a glass of water and relax for a minute because right now it sounds like you’re panicking.” Derek said, a little worried at the rapid rate that Stiles’ heart was beating.

He reached across the table for his glass and knocked it back all in one go, Derek watching him with wide eyes.

“Stiles, I just want to know why you’ve put that burden on yourself, that’s all.” He said.

“Me? Well what about you? I know you’ve put a lot of blame on yourself for things that happened in the past.” Stiles said and Derek turned his face away, staring down at the napkin in front of him.

Stiles felt a pang of regret, he hadn’t meant to say that, he didn’t really want to bring it up. They air hung silently around them and was only broken when the waitress came back with two plates of dessert.

Stiles sighed heavily, relief flooding through him as he started eating, knowing that Derek hated it when he spoke with his mouth full. Derek started eating his own food too, the silence just getting worse.

“I…” He started, Derek looking up expectantly. “I don’t really talk in my sleep do I?” He asked.

Derek nodded. “You say a lot of things Stiles. Plus you can't control that thing when you’re awake, why would you think you’d be able to when you’re asleep?” He pointed to his mouth and Stiles sighed again.

“I don’t… I don’t blame myself… I mean it’s not my fault that she got sick.” Derek watched him intently from across the table as he tried to get something out, knowing that hiding things from Derek never worked out well. “She used to get these headaches, I mean they started out pretty random and everything… then they just started happening all the time. My dad wanted her to go to a doctor and make sure everything was alright but uh… well, I had a lot of attention issues and trouble focussing back then. I was probably a terrible child. She helped me with my homework for hours after school, sometimes it would take an hour just to get me to sit down.” He swallowed, biting his lip as he remembered back when he was a kid. “So um, my dad would say ‘you need to check yourself out, make sure you’re okay’ and she would tell him that she’d get around to it but she just… I mean dad was working overtime at the precinct and I was more than a handful.

“She spent a lot of time dealing with me and it was years before we got any medication that actually worked so when she finally got time to do something for her…” His eyes dropped and he was back to playing with his leftovers. Derek reached out to touch his hand, stroking it gently because his heart was back to pounding furiously. Stiles shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal but he still wouldn’t look up at Derek whose eyes had never left the fracturing lines of Stiles’ face. “Doctors said it had gone too far or progressed to a stage where they couldn’t really do much or something like that and if they’d been able to catch it a few months earlier then maybe the prognosis would be different. I guess my dad looked at me first when we heard and maybe … subconsciously… I thought that maybe he blamed me because I was the one who stopped her from… I mean if she didn’t have to deal with a hyperactive kid who was at risk of failing the third grade then maybe… maybe she would have gone earlier.”

He shrugged again, his eyes growing glassier with every second he spoke about it. “Yeah, maybe it is my fault.”

“Don’t say that…” Derek whispered.

Stiles looked up just as a tear came spilling down his cheek and Derek reached up to brush it away. Stiles was trying desperately to stop any more from falling and he chuckled a little to himself.

“God damn it Derek, what did you have to go and ask me something like that for?” He said.

“Same reason you had to go asking all of yours.” He gave Stiles a weak smile and nudged his head back a little. “Come here.” He whispered.

Stiles got up and rounded the table so that he could squeeze in beside Derek on his side of the booth and Derek lifted his arm so that Stiles could crawl in underneath. He closed his eyes as he heart the faint pattering of Derek’s heart and nuzzled in close. Derek kissed his hair and affectionately rubbed his knee with his hand.

It was almost strange that he was being so affectionate in a public place but that was one thing that Stiles was going to keep his mouth shut about; he was enjoying it. He was glad to have stopped their conversation though, and as much as Stiles wanted to know about Derek’s time with Laura or his family he wouldn’t ask anymore. If Derek wanted to tell him; he would.

There were a few things that he knew would slip out, things that were bugging him about the words that Derek spoke. He might not be able to help them but he had felt that horrible gut-wrenching feeling of answering a question that hurt and parts of him thought that Derek did it purposefully to get him to stop asking questions. Either way, he was going to try and keep his mouth more firmly shut from now on.

Stiles’ hand brushed Derek’s warm thigh and he said he’d call for the cheque. Soon enough they were hand in hand, walking out to Derek’s car and on their way back to the loft. He did everything to lighten the mood, he even threw in a CD and started singing to one of the old nineties songs and had Derek crack a real smile for once.

In the lift, on their way up, Derek pulled him in for a kiss that lasted longer than the ride, neither of them pulling away from the other as they stumbled into the living room and leant against one of the walls.

“You know… you taste like chocolate.” Stiles managed to squeeze past Derek’s lips.

Derek smiled against Stiles’ cheek. “Only this one part of me does Stiles.”

“Still… I wouldn’t mind tasting the rest.” Derek grinned and kissed him again.

That was when they heard the shower taps turn on upstairs and Derek groaned. “Isaac’s here.” He said.

“I thought he was staying at Scott’s tonight. Maybe dinner didn’t go so well.” He smiled and Derek gave him a look.

“I hope you’re not enjoying your thoughts about something bad happening at Scott’s place.” He said.

“No, but maybe they can't face one another after all the awkwardness.” He grinned again.

“You’re a bad person.” Derek said, peeling his body away from Stiles.

“Am not, other peoples’ misfortunes just make me somewhat… amused.”

Derek laughed. “Well how about I go get us something to drink and you make yourself comfortable somewhere.” He headed back towards the lift.

“Wait you’re going _out_ to get something to drink?” Stiles asked.

“A pack of teenage werewolves keeps raiding my stash. So yes, I’m going out to get something.” He said.

“Maybe you should find a better hiding place.” Stiles teased.

“Shut up, I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He said with a smile and Stiles shook his head walking over to collapse on the couch.

As far as dates go, it wasn’t bad. Then again he doesn’t have anything to compare it to. It could probably have done with a little less emotional soul crushing and devastating memories but Stiles had a feeling Derek was going to make up for that now, and with alcohol and sex. Not a bad combination

There was still that one little thing playing on his mind, the one thing he couldn’t get out of his head. Derek didn’t want a family. He didn’t want any of it, not anymore. And that made Stiles a little sad. He thought that maybe it would be something that Derek would want, considering the fact that he was left with nothing, but this way also made sense.

Stiles sighed and looked towards the stairs. He groaned his way off the couch and headed upstairs, taking his time. When he reached the landing he could hear the shower running still, louder than before. He walked up to the door and knocked twice.

“Isaac?” He asked.

“Stiles?” He heard back, muffled from the water and the two inches of door between them.

“Can I ask you something?” He said, waiting for a response.

“Uh… sure, go ahead.” He heard, so he opened the door and leant against the frame with his arms folded.

The shower curtain was pulled all the way and the glass was warped enough so that Stiles could only make out part of a blurry figure behind it.

“Do you, I mean do you ever think of the future and stuff?” He asked.

Isaac’s sopping wet mop of curly hair stuck to his forehead as he pulled back the curtain to reveal only his head and shoulders.

“What, like college and that?” He said, water drops falling effortlessly from his damp lips.

“Yeah, among other things.” Stiles added, hating how perfect Isaac looked on pure principle.

“Well yeah, obviously, why wouldn’t I?” He asked, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“I was just asking.” Stiles said with a roll of his eyes.

“Well it’s not like I was expecting that as a question, I thought it was going to be something like ‘do you know where the last of the Oreos went’.” He grinned.

Stiles cursed. “I _knew_ that was you, asshole.” Isaac grinned back at him. “Do you ever think of anything other than college?”

“Like what?” He asked and Stiles was about to speak up when Scott’s head appeared past the curtain too.

Isaac bit his bottom lip and tried to suppress his amusement as Stiles scrunched up his eyes and turned away from them.

“Nice guys, nice.”

“Hey you opened the door. It’s not like we were-” Isaac started.

“Do you mean like family and life and stuff? That’s what you mean right?” Scott asked.

“Yeah Scott. That’s what I meant.”

“Oh, well yeah of course I think about it. Why?” Isaac asked.

“Because I was just asking alright? But I’ll ask later, sorry for the interruption.” Stiles smirked. “I take it there won't be any hot water left for when _I_ want a shower.”

“None, none at all.” Scott grinned and Stiles shook his head as he left the bathroom.

“Fucking horndogs. Both of you!” He muttered as he shut the door and headed back out to the living room to wait for Derek.

“That was mean,” Isaac said, grinning as Scott took his hand and proceeded to kiss each one of his fingertips. “He sounded like he really wanted to talk about something.”

“You’re in the shower… and you’re not alone either.” Scott said, pulling Isaac into his wet body and stroking his arm.

“Still, did something seem off about him?” Isaac asked.

Scott sighed. “Yeah, I know it did but where ever Derek is I’m sure he won't be gone for long and it doesn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it with him… so I’ll call him in the morning.” Scott shrugged, and Isaac knew he was right.

“Fine, I just… I don’t know, sometimes I think that Derek would be a horrible person to try and talk to and Stiles is… well, Stiles is…” Isaac said.

Scott reached up to stroke his hair and smiled. “I know, you guys are pretty good friends now huh?”

Isaac nodded.  “Not jealous are you?” He added with a smirk.

Scott laughed. “Are you kidding? He’s my best friend, you’re my boyfriend… if you guys are friends then I am totally stoked, I mean it’s like I have two best friends, then if the two of you are close it’s like the three of us are best friends.” He got this look in his eye and he was slightly distant as a smile crept across his face.

Isaac grinned as he held back his laughter. “You started thinking about that song in the Hangover and then thought about the whole ‘wolf-pack’ thing didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Scott said.

Isaac threw his head back and laughed, sliding his arms around Scott’s waist. “You’re adorable.” He said, kissing him softly on the lips.

“Not exactly what I was going for but I’ll take it. Now… can we get back to what we were doing before all that?” He asked.

“You have to ask?” Isaac grinned, slipping his hands down to Scott’s ass and giving it a squeeze.

 

 

When Derek got back he found Stiles rummaging through the pantry looking for something to eat. After a few moments of teasing he pulled out a bag of potato chips and tossed them to him. It wasn’t long before they were settled into the couch, Stiles nuzzling into Derek’s side and sharing a bottle of whiskey between them, even though Derek was making sure Stiles couldn’t have as much as he wanted.

Occasionally Derek turned up the volume and Stiles had a feeling it was to drown out noises from upstairs. Not that he minded, especially when Derek nuzzled back into him, his stubbled chin tickling his neck… he minded even less so when he pressed his lips to Stiles’ mouth and lay him back on the couch, grinding his hips into him and letting his hands roam.

Somehow Stiles felt there were so many things that he needed answering, like one dinner wasn’t enough to get everything out. He had so much more he wanted to ask, so much more he wanted to know. Derek was distracting enough in that moment for him to push it to the back of his mind.

Eventually they moved themselves to Derek’s bedroom, stumbled is more like it, disturbing the perfectly made sheets and Stiles finally got to find out Derek’s favourite thing to do in bed, which he enjoyed, a lot. He was sure that Derek did too because after he gave Stiles a kiss to his temple and pulled him into his arms, holding him a little too tight but he didn’t care.

When he finally released him Stiles let out the sigh he had been holding in and just lay awake, his mind ticking over and over. After a long time of just thinking he flicked his eyes to Derek and back to the ceiling again.

“Derek?” Stiles whispered as he lay beside him, unable to sleep and not sure if Derek was the same.

He made a grunting sound in reply and Stiles looked over at him, his eyes were closed and he looked pretty comfortable just lying there naked and covered with a thin sheet.

“Can I ask you something?” He said softly.

“I told you, I’m not answering any more of your questions so your queries about my sex life are going to have to _remain_ unanswered.” He said without opening his eyes.

Stiles chuckled a little. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it Stiles?”

He wasn’t going to bring up the whole wanting a family thing, but there was something else that he wanted to know, something that related to them _now_ , not five or ten years down the track.

“Well… earlier, I mean you said that Peter was different before the fire…”

“He was.” Derek said quietly, opening his eyes and staring up at the ceiling.

“All that stuff you said about you guys, about Laura… why did he kill her?” He asked, watching Derek intently.

He sighed and shook his head. “I know what he’d say.” He said and Stiles just waited for him to keep going. “Six years, six years it took him to heal himself. Inside out, day after day, one cell at a time – fixing himself, making himself a whole different person. The wolf didn’t experience the effects of the moon for so long that when they finally did he couldn’t control it and Laura just happened to be the one who got in the way, unavoidably.”

“What would you say?”

Derek turned his head to look at Stiles. He didn’t seem angry, just thoughtful, like he had thought it all through one hundred times before.

“I would say that the part of him that survived was the animal inside him. It was the instinct to heal, to survive, the only part of him untouched was the basic need to stay alive. The real Peter died in the fire. The wolf survived. Any part of him that was still there was consumed with the agonising pain of being left alone in a dark room for six years. His need to get revenge on the people who put him there just sat and festered all that time, with no other way to release his anger.” His eyes had grown distant, Stiles just lay there silently. “So I’d believe him. I’d believe him about the fact that he couldn’t control himself on the night of the moon, when Laura went out looking.”

“But Derek… he didn’t kill Scott.”

“That’s where I wouldn’t believe it. It wasn’t unavoidable. Laura was an alpha and the wolf inside Peter wanted to be an alpha more than the man wanted to keep his niece alive. He’d lived without family for long enough. There was only one thing that he had for company all those years that me and Laura stayed away. One thing… and he let himself become more like that than like he had been.”

Stiles reached out and let his fingertips graze Derek’s cheek. He turned his face to let them brush his lips and he lifted his own hand to link his fingers with Stiles’, kissing each one and closing his eyes.

“I can't… I can't talk about this anymore Stiles.” He said so softly that Stiles wasn’t even sure that he had heard.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He said, pulling Derek into him and he willingly curled up in his arms. He buried his head against Stiles’ chest and wrapped an arm around his waist as he was soothed by the gentle pounding of his human heartbeat. “Just come here.”

Derek’s lips placed a soft kiss in the middle of his chest and Stiles ran his fingers through his dark hair, closing his eyes as he felt Derek’s slow exhales waving over him.

“I love you Derek.” He whispered.

Derek shook his head slowly. “I need you.”

“I know. I know.” Stiles cooed as he continued to stroke Derek’s hair, wanting nothing else but to hold him for as long as he could manage.

As he did all he could to keep him in a state of calm, to make him feel protected, Stiles couldn’t help but let the rage well up inside him.

Who could have done something like this to this heart-breakingly beautiful man? Who could have taken from him everything he had and made him broken, a shell of the person he once was? This man who wanted nothing more than to live his life with his family in peace, the man who had such a spark. A spark that was now barely an ember, struggling to stay alive in the dead of night. How could anyone have destroyed such a beautiful creature?

Stiles was never going to know the answer, all he could do was try to piece him back together… without Derek realising that he was trying to fix him. No, that would be something that Derek would hate.

So he kissed his head and held onto him in the way he knew he needed, knowing that in the morning he would pretend that none of these moments ever even happened.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Stiles was right, they didn’t talk any more about it after that, and it didn’t matter. Derek was acting somewhat warmer, he smiled a little more, even if it was only fleeting. It helped that the new pack hadn’t posed a threat, though he kept his eyes open and still refused to trust them. He had many arguments with Jackson about what to do with them; one of the twins had sparked a relationship with Danny and Jackson wanted to make sure he wasn’t being used as a pawn in some kind of game.

Otherwise the rest of them mostly kept to themselves. Derek only had fleeting moments talking to Katherine, the other alpha, mainly about Peter because he was the only one that Derek’s words had no effect on. Daisy, the younger blonde, stayed about as far from their radar as she could, and no one had any arguments for that.

When it came down to it, they were all just happy that there was no killing or maiming, other than the regular human kind. It even gave them enough time to enjoy a quiet Thanksgiving. Scott and Melissa were headed out of town, a long drive out to Phoenix Arizona to spend their time with Melissa’s mother and sister and her three kids. Scott had joked about how the only thing worse than dealing with his cousins was having to listen to his mother complaining about his aunt all the way back to California.

Stiles and his father were out on a fishing trip at one of the Sheriff’s favourite spots, he had even roped Derek into coming which Stiles had been stoked about until his father made Derek sleep alone in his own tent and Stiles was stuck with his father. Not to mention the way the Sheriff and Derek liked to team up against Stiles because both of them had almost identical views on what was best for him. Most of the trip was them giving Stiles dirty looks out on the lake because the sound of his yammering mouth kept scaring all the fish away. In the end, as much as he complained and whined and pouted, he wouldn’t have changed a thing because he even thought he saw Derek smile once or twice.

Erica’s extended family all flocked to Beacon Hills for the occasion, one of the few times a year her mother looks up from her writing and sombre glass of wine so she soaked it in for all it was worth.

Boyd and his family did something similar, his older sister was away at college and so they set up a webcam link for their dinner. They all managed a laugh at the way his grandfather kept looking at the screen with her face on, like he didn’t trust it one bit.

Lydia and her parents spent a quiet night in, a decadent feast laid out on their table. They all had busy schedules but this was a special occasion so they at least made the effort to sit down together and eat. Though she wished she was anywhere else, ‘quiet night in’ meant that her parents were either ignoring one another or arguing. They met up at all of Lydia’s special events and the way they tolerated one another so very barely had Lydia with no doubts about how much they cared for her, but she just wished they could alternate or do lunch and then dinner so she didn’t have to deal with it.

Allison and Chris headed out of town, staying at a nice hotel in the city because this was the first year they would be spending as just the two of them and somehow take-out Chinese in a hotel room was as far from their Thanksgiving traditions as possible and that was exactly how they wanted it.

With Derek away with Stiles and his father and Scott with his family, Isaac was left virtually alone for the holiday. It’s not like he had celebrated Thanksgiving a lot with his father but this year he was all alone. That is until Jackson invited him to his parents’ party, they hold one every year and his reason for doing so was that there were always too many leftovers and he was sick of his mother complaining about it. The fact that he had mumbled it and avoided eye contact when he invited him just made Isaac start believing that he might actually have had a heart after all. There weren’t that many people, it was quite an intimate gathering really but Danny was there with his family so Isaac seemed to stick to him for the night. He was just happy not to be sitting in Derek’s cold and sterile loft for the holidays.

But there was still one more to come, the big one, that occasion at the end of the year that everyone waited on. Christmas, and once thanksgiving was over it started to get closer, and fast.

By the end of their classes it had dawned on them all that the big one was on its way and Stiles was going to take advantage of the fact that he had friends and a boyfriend this year. He had so many plans in his eclectic brain that he had to make a list to get them out, and Erica helped him with that, Isaac too. For some reason the three of them were feeling extra festive this year.

The first thing on their holiday agenda, or the ‘very werewolf Christmas’ as Stiles had labelled it, was cracking Derek. Stiles knew that he played a big role in that step. While everybody had already put up their trees and lights, the loft was as dull and dreary as ever, not a candy cane in sight. So Isaac and Stiles headed to the loft with Scott to convince Derek that a little bit of decoration to get into the festive spirit wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

As soon as the three of them showed up Derek knew something was up and rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen to pour himself a bowl of cereal and milk.

“So… there’s this thing…” Stiles had said.

“What do you want?” Derek said in reply, not missing a beat as he put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

“We were wondering…” Isaac started.

“Hoping!” Stiles added.

“Yeah, hoping, we were hoping you wouldn’t be opposed to… maybe putting up a few you know… holiday decorations?” Isaac said as more of a question than Stiles would have liked but they both looked hopefully up at Derek as Scott just laughed.

“So the three of you think that it would be a good idea to put up strands of foil and a big pointed tree with more strands of foil wrapped around it?” He asked flatly.

“I’m just here for moral support, it’s those two that thought it would be a good plan. They have a list.” Scott said, slightly more amused than he should have been.

Derek gave them both a look as they glowered over at Scott. “It’s not so much a list as it is… ideas.” Stiles shrugged.

“In list form.” Isaac said.

Derek let out a huff and they both knew they were failing miserably. Stiles stepped forward and leant in close to Derek’s ear.

“Okay, I know that you’re not so fussed on the whole holiday thing because it’s two weeks out from Christmas and you don’t even have a tree and a whole bunch of other reasons but this place looks like a morgue compared to everything else in this town and I think you need to stop making it look like that on purpose. I know you don’t like this stuff but please, it’s Christmas, and you don’t have to get me anything or even be nice to me in public but please can you try not to be like – the biggest sour wolf ever? Besides, Isaac lives here most of the time and if I have to endure these big plain walls much longer I am totally going to go crazy.” He said, and Derek had worried that it was all in one breath and that he was going to pass out. “Come on Derek, you don’t have to be miserable. Maybe a little bit of colour in this place will do you some good.” He said, looking up at him with his big doe eyes.

Derek groaned and rolled his eyes again. “Fine. But no mistletoe.” He said, taking his cereal and walking away from Isaac and Stiles’ giddy expressions and Scott’s chuckles.

“Why no mistletoe?” Scott said.

“Don’t ask!” Derek called with his mouth full as he disappeared up the stairs.

That day he had listened from his room as they left for an hour or so and came back with Boyd and Erica in tow and what sounded like a box of jingling Christmas decorations. He groaned to himself as he thought about his loft – which happened to be exactly the way he liked it – being turned into a pool of sparkling Christmas vomit. And he would refuse to admit that he enjoyed the sound of their laughter from downstairs.

Boyd and Scott had managed to get a tree and carried it back with them, setting it up in the corner by the disused fireplace while Isaac collected wood to put inside it, ready to light and turn the room into a real Christmas scene. Erica and Stiles hung lights up around the window outside and then moved on to lines of twisted green and silver tinsel around the big loft beams.

They had bought some new ornaments and stolen the rest from their various collections at home. As they hung them on the tree, along with more tinsel and the remaining lights they laughed and joked like they were a group of normal teenagers.

Once they had finished they stood around to admire their handiwork and Derek made his way down from upstairs to take a look at the place.

The fairy lights on the tree blinked in a multitude of colours and reflected in the silver tinsel that wrapped around it like a spiral. An odd variety of gaudy baubles hung from its branches, covering most of the green foliage. The rest of the house was filled with tinsel or hanging decorations and there was even a snow globe that Scott had found tucked away in a corner of his attic sitting on the shelf above the fireplace. Overall they looked quite proud of themselves.

Derek took one look and blinked a few times before walking back upstairs without a word.

“I think he likes it.” Stiles said with a grin and it was as if he could almost hear Derek’s teeth grinding in the distance.

 

When Christmas was only a week away Erica had the idea that they should all do a Secret Santa because it sounded like a good idea. She first pitched it to Stiles because she knew he would be more likely to convince everyone than she was.

“Plus this way nobody bitches if everyone else gets something at Christmas and they get nothing.” She said with a shrug.

For a moment Stiles felt sorry for her because it sounded as though this was something she was familiar with. Then she punched him in the arm and suddenly not so sorry. So Stiles sent a text around to everyone telling them that Secret Santa was not optional and he was sure that they were all reluctant but agreed anyway.

He and Erica wrote all the names down and into a little pouch until everyone made their way to Derek’s for a pack meeting, they were back to having them every week or something like that. It was almost like Derek enjoyed spending time with them.

They called Lydia and Allison over too because they were basically members of the pack anyway. Once Derek had finished all the actual pack business Stiles took out his pouch of names and a big grin.

“Okay guys, bag of names, you know what to do. If you get yourself put it back and take another one. And yes, Derek, you have to take one.” Stiles said and Derek rolled his eyes at him.

“Come on, it’s not that bad. I’ll go first.” Isaac said, standing up and taking the first name out of the bag.

He made a satisfied face and shoved it into his pocket. “Who’s next?”

One by one they took a name and made various faces about it. Erica’s eyes gleamed and she shot them all a devious grin after taking hers, Allison’s face dropped and she almost seemed to roll her eyes just wishing that she had picked any other name. Scott’s face was very much the same as Allison’s and Derek – well he was about as far from impressed as you could get.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad guys, seriously.” Stiles said. “Stop being such whiner babies.”

“So when are we doing this then?” Allison asked.

“Christmas, at some point. Stiles will text you all because he’ll remember to do it and I won't.” Erica shrugged.

“That was shockingly less than helpful.” Lydia said. “Anyway, I have a late hair appointment that I do _not_ want to miss so I think I’m going to get going.” She gave a smile to the group as she headed for the door.

Slowly they all gave their reasons and left for the night, leaving just Scott to kiss Isaac goodnight before heading home to finish their own decorating with his mother. Isaac said good night to Derek and Stiles before retreating to his room for the night.

Stiles turned to Derek who was shaking his head. “What? You don’t like Secret Santa?”

Derek’s stare was blank and unwavering. “Why do you insist on pushing this Christmas thing?”

“Oh come on Derek, is it really that bad?” He asked.

He paused for a moment. “Yes, it is.” He said.

“Well, then you’re not going to like the next thing that comes out of my mouth.” Stiles said sheepishly.

Derek narrowed his eyes. “Why? What do you want?”

“Well… I was kind of thinking… I mean this is kind of the first pack Christmas and why shouldn’t we have like a pack Christmas thing, you know like sitting around the tree and doing the Secret Santa thing and eggnog and then there’s all the presents you’re going to buy me-”

“Oh no, no, no, no.” Derek shook his head. “I know what you’re going to say and no. Absolutely not.”

“Oh come on, please?” Stiles asked. “This place is like a second home to them and I think they would really like to have something here, even if most of them won't admit it.”

Derek let out a sigh and folded his arms.

“Derek, you were the one going around collecting misfit toys.” He sighed again and Stiles walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking up at him. “I know this is your first Christmas without-”

“Don’t.” Derek said warningly.

“Okay, then I won't, but maybe think about-”

He was cut off when Derek spun around, cupped his face in his hands and kissed him. He pressed his lips hard against Stiles’ mouth, softening as he pressed smaller kisses to hip lips.

“What uh – what was that for?” Stiles asked.

“I love you.” Derek said and Stiles chuckled, his forehead leaning against Derek’s.

“I love you too, what does that have anything to do with… anything?”

“If you want to do Christmas here then do Christmas here, but don’t try to fix me because everyone should be happy during the holidays. I let you decorate the place and now you’ve roped me into Secret Santa but if you even think about trying to sing carols or making this Christmas some sappy family dinner then you can forget it.” Derek said and Stiles nodded.

“Okay then, you promise to at least try and be festive?” Derek narrowed his eyes. “Well do you promise not to be less than festive?” Derek rolled his eyes so Stiles kissed him again. “Thank you.”

“You know I hate you for this Secret Santa thing right?” Derek pulled away and gave him a look.

“Oh come on, it can’t be as bad as mine, I got Jackson, who did you get?” He asked.

“I think you’re missing the point of Secret Santa Stiles.” Derek shook his head.

“Yeah maybe. You wanna…?” He pointed upstairs with a devilish grin and Derek chuckled, shaking his head before giving Stiles a shrug and walking past him towards the stairs and up to their bedroom for the night.

Needless to say Isaac had wished that he didn’t have super strength hearing that night.

 

When Scott got home he found his mother hanging stockings over the fireplace. He threw his bag into a chair and smiled.

“I thought stockings were for kids, you know, for Santa to fill with candy and little hot wheels and stuff.” He said.

She laughed. “Yeah well maybe this year Santa can just fill them in the week leading up to Christmas.” She said as she finished hanging up the third one.

Scott was confused. “You know there’s only two of us right? Who’s that one for?” He asked.

She looked up as if it were painstakingly obvious. “It’s for Isaac.” She said.

“Really?”

“Yes really.” She said, rolling her eyes playfully at Scott. “I was thinking about it the other day and I guess I felt bad that we didn’t invite him to Thanksgiving at my mom’s place. I know he doesn’t really have anyone anymore and no one should be alone on Christmas so… he has a stocking and he’s having breakfast with us on Christmas morning, and maybe _Santa_ will visit him here too.” She said.

“Mom, you don’t have to-”

“Scott, I know you think I’ve got all this pent up crap about you and Isaac but the boy is here all the time, he’s… well I mean he’s sweeter than a puppy dog and he’s family. He’s _your_ family and anyone who’s your family is mine too.” She said.

His dopey grin covered his entire face and he walked over to hug her. he wrapped his arms around her and she stroked his hair back to kiss the side of his face.

“Thanks mom.”

“Anytime Scott.”

“So why haven’t you invited Stiles around for Christmas morning before? He’s always been like my brother.” He said with a smile and she pushed him away to get out her other box of decorations.

“Please, that boy would drive me crazy.” She said and they both laughed.

“Well maybe just his dad then.” He shrugged.

“Oh-ho! I see what you’re doing there, go and get that box will you? We have work to do.”

 

So Stiles sent out the message, ‘a Very-Werewolf-Christmas is happening’ it had said. After working it all out they figured that they were all free on Christmas night, most of them having breakfast or lunch commitments with their families until the afternoon. The best part about it was that Derek didn’t have to feed them all.

Isaac seemed to go all shy when Scott told him about the non-optional Christmas morning at his place, his cheeks flushed scarlet for a long while. He knew that it had just been Isaac and his father the last few years and he didn’t think that it would have been much of a holiday for him. This year would be different, Melissa had already gone out and bought him a couple of presents and popped them under the tree.

Meanwhile, Isaac had been helping Scott try to figure out what to buy for his Secret Santa; Scott had pulled Derek’s name out of the bag and was not happy about it. Isaac had gotten Boyd and sailed through his shopping, to which Scott envied him.

Erica and Stiles were spending time planning their Christmas dinner, which consisted mainly of chips and booze, in a moderate amount of course. Derek stayed upstairs and away from it all. Mostly he was avoiding the sparkly loft floor below him because he couldn’t stand to be in it for too long.

Stiles had invited him to Christmas morning at his place but Derek had insisted that he have the morning with his dad. He protested about that; loudly, just because he knew Derek would be alone in the loft for the most part and in the end they settled on him coming over for lunch as a halfway point.

Still, on Christmas Eve Stiles wouldn’t let Derek leave his room until the clock had ticked past twelve and he was able to kiss him on Christmas day. It’s not like he didn’t enjoy it, but Derek knew Stiles was just trying to convince him to stay all night and into the morning so he kissed him until he was delirious and escaped through the window, but not without an ‘I love you’.

When daylight finally broke on Christmas morning Scott and Isaac were snuggled up in Scott’s bed, Isaac’s arm draped lazily over Scott’s bare chest and his hand clinging to Isaac’s arm. They were in no hurry to wake up but both of them got a good scare when Melissa banged on the door and told them to get their butts out of bed.

Isaac laughed in his drowsy state, hair a mess and one eye still sealed shut. “She just can't help herself, can she?”

Scott chuckled, staring at Isaac like he was the most beautiful thing in the world. “Guess not.” He mumbled, trying to go back to sleep until Isaac threw the covers off him and began getting out of bed himself.

“Come on, before she starts waving around the pots and pans.” He said as he stretched and Scott groaned.

“Can't I just stay here all day with you?” He cooed, grabbing Isaac’s waist and holding him to the bed.

“Well I don’t know about you but this is the first time in a long time that I’m having an actual Christmas so I would like to enjoy it.” He said and Scott kissed his side.

“Yeah, I forgot about that, sorry.”

“Hey, why are you sorry? This year is going to be the best one yet, and I know exactly what you want but you’ll have to wait until tonight.” He grinned and Scott laughed out loud.

“Oh come on, we have time.” He said wickedly.

“No, we don’t, I have presents down there and I’m not going to miss that for anything.” He said.

“Oh my god, you’re like Harry Potter.” Scott grumbled as he tore himself out of bed.

Isaac laughed. “Not quite, and I don’t think your mom will have knitted me a sweater either.”

“No, that she most definitely will not have done. She doesn’t even know how to knit. She gave up when my grandma tried teaching her like ten years ago.” He said.

They got themselves dressed and headed downstairs where Melissa was sitting in the couch chair drinking her coffee and reading through an old magazine. “And I thought girls were supposed to take forever to get ready.” She said.

Scott rolled his eyes but Isaac just grinned and said ‘Merry Christmas’ which made Melissa smile. She got up to kiss the both of them on the cheek and asked if they wanted any coffee but they were both already sat on the floor near the tree and she just laughed.

“It’s like you’re nine years old again. What is it with teenagers and going backwards after they reach a certain age?”

So they each handed out their presents and opened their own in turn. With the look of delight on Isaac’s face Scott mouthed a silent thank you to his mother and she smiled as she watched their faces light up, fuelled by one another and she wondered how she ever questioned them. They just made one another so happy and it was true that the three of them were like a family.

Melissa just couldn’t leave Isaac out when he had no one else, and her soft spot for Isaac grew every time she saw the pair of them together.

“I know it’s not much this year.” She said but Scott looked up quickly, shaking his head.

“Mom, it’s perfect.” He said.

Isaac looked from one to the other, a sweet smile plastered on his face. “Thanks Ms McCall.”

“Sweetie you don’t need to thank me.” She leant over to squeeze his arm.

It’s been a long time since Isaac had felt like he had a home but right in that moment, he did.

 

“Oh come on Derek, you promised.” Stiles said as they sat around in the loft waiting for the others to arrive that night.

“I promised some things but I have never promised _that_.” He said, arms folded and not budging.

“It’s not like I’m asking you to smile or anything, just wear it.” Stiles said, holding up the bright green Christmas jumper for Derek to gaze at with disgust.

“No, I’m not wearing it.” He said.

“Oh come on, it’s sexy.” Stiles grinned.

“You know sometimes, I really don’t want to know what goes on in that head of yours.” Derek said.

“Are you kidding? Anyone else would look like a total D-bag but I just want to see what you look like in it. Please?” He whimpered and Derek sighed, he had promised to be slightly festive.

He snatched the jumper away and pulled his shirt off, over his head and Stiles admired the cut lines of his body. He gave him a dirty glare as he pulled the jumper over his head, the woolly knit surprisingly soft.

“I was totally right, you make anything look sexy.” Stiles grinned.

“You know I’m going to kill you, right?” He said but Stiles just sauntered over, giving him a kiss and slipping his out to caress the soft side of Derek’s top lip.

Derek instinctively pulled him in closer, deepening their kiss and lifting Stiles off the floor to hold him close.

“As much as I want to do this… the others are going to be here like, now.” Stiles purred.

“Well until then, if I have to wear this thing then you can oblige me.” Derek growled.

“I will be happy to do it later, more than happy actually.” He grinned and as if on cue they heard the lift moving upwards and some of the pack members making their way to the loft for their pack dinner.

Derek grunted but he didn’t take of the silly sweater which had patterns knitted into it and simply let Stiles go and wandered into the kitchen.

Scott and Isaac were the first to arrive, both laughing for an extended period of time at Derek before he let out a rather loud growl that had them both biting their lips in silence. Erica was next, followed by Lydia and Jackson and the rest weren’t long after. For a while they didn’t think that Allison was coming but she made it, last of all.

Stiles had made a little sign for Secret Santa presents and the pile was finally full. If he had been given his way they would have already unwrapped their presents but instead Derek made everyone coffees, silently of course. He was done with saying anything to quell their laugher, the only thing keeping him in the sweater being the smile glued to Stiles’ face.

They went through all their mornings and gifts, big like Jackson’s new computer or small, like Erica’s twenty dollar voucher to a store she never visits, still they all laughed and somehow even though they were a band of misfit toys, Stiles was right; this made up a part of their home.

“Can we do Secret Santa now?” Stiles asked after an hour of sitting around and there were no arguments.

They all flocked to the tree, glimmering with tinsel and flickering lights, taking seats around it as Scott started a fire in the otherwise unused fireplace.

“So how do we do this? Like, open them all at the same time and guess or one by one giving them to the people we bought them for?” Isaac asked and Stiles shrugged.

“How about the first one?” Scott suggested.

Again there were no arguments and Stiles started handing them out to everyone until they all had one.

“Well I think I know who this one came from… the wrapping is perfect.” Allison smiled and looked up at Lydia who shrugged.

“I’m not lowering my standards of wrapping to blend in so I guess I’m caught.” Lydia shrugged. “Mine on the other hand…” She looked down at her own present that was so raggedly wrapped that the corners were ripping. “Mine is so haphazardly wrapped that it could only have come from Jackson.”

He scoffed, but didn’t deny it.

“Well go on, open them, don’t make me look like the asshole.” Stiles said as he started digging into his present.

The rest did the same, not really knowing what to expect. Boyd was reasonably shocked by his set of charcoal pencils and art paper, only knowing of two possible people who could have known about his love of drawing and Erica had already told him who she had picked so he knew it must have been Isaac.

He mumbled a quiet thanks and Isaac shrugged as he finished unwrapping his own gift. Inside a decent sized box was a thirty dollar voucher to the Gap. He looked up to see Allison sighing sheepishly.

“Sorry it’s a bit pathetic, I just had no idea what to get you.” She said and Isaac’s ears went a little pink.

“No, no, it’s cool.” He said, the awkwardness between the two of them still not fully resolved.

“There’s some honeycomb at the bottom, under the tissue paper, I know you like that.” She gave him a smile and he nodded, smiling down at the gift.

It might not have been much, but he knew that she had probably thought more about this gift than any other and he was grateful for that.

“Okay, who got me this? Because whoever you are I think I’m going to kiss you right now.” Scott said, grinning at the newest instalment of his favourite game as he finished unwrapping it.

“Please don’t, I really don’t need that much thanks.” Boyd said, backing up a little in case he was actually serious.

“Oh, the total series collection of Batman, I wonder who that could be from.” Stiles said, grinning over at Erica who looked very pleased with herself.

“Thought you’d like that – ooh!” She squeaked as she opened her box to reveal a stunning leather jacket. “Please don’t tell me this was from you?” She looked up at Derek who shrugged. “You have exquisite taste Derek.” She grinned, taking it out and inspecting it closely, clearly very impressed.

“You seem to take a liking to things that are mine so I thought I’d put you out of your misery, mostly.” He said, muttering the last bit and Stiles held back a laugh.

It was so sexy when Derek labelled him as ‘his’, which he was so obviously implying with his comment.

“So… this is definitely from Stiles.” Jackson said, holding up a set of dog-tags.

“Oh come on, the fact that they’re called dog tags just makes it amusing, they’re actually engraved with details and stuff… I mean you drive that car of yours like you want to end up halfway around a pole. So just in case.”

“You’re morbid.” Jackson said but gave him a smile anyway.

Lydia had bought Allison a dress she had her eye on, and Jackson just spent extra on a necklace for Lydia because he had ended up with her as a secret Santa anyway.

When they finally got around to Derek it was obvious who it was from, there was only one person left. He opened to box, and under a set of reindeer antlers was an old picture in a frame of him and Laura, back when he was still in high school. He stared down at it, almost lost for words.

“Where the hell did you get this?” He asked.

“I uh, said something to Deaton about needing a gift for you and he went looking through some old file and found this. So technically I was a cheapskate and just bought a frame and some antlers but I swear I thought about this a lot.” Derek just looked up, giving Scott a semi-smile before tucking it away so the others wouldn’t see.

“Well these would look great on you.” Stiles said, taking the antlers and grinning up at Derek.

“Oh no.” He said.

Stiles grinned stupidly as he put the antlers on Derek's head, straightening them up and nodding approvingly. As if the green sweater wasn’t enough, now he had to suffer through this.

The rest of the pack stifled their laughs, even though they all had some kind of whimsical bauble or hat on, somehow Derek wearing a sweater and reindeer antlers was just so much funnier.

The look of pure and utter hatred on his face just made it even better.

Jackson grinned, "Oh, they're awesome." He said sarcastically, causing Derek to turn to him slowly with a look that could kill.

"Come on Derek, you promised to be festive." Stiles said with a smile, earning a huff and puff as a response. "Besides, I think he looks kind of dashing."

Scott and Isaac looked at one another but surprisingly it was Boyd who said the thing they were both thinking.

"On Dasher, on Dancer…"

"Prancer and Vixen…" Scott added.

"Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen…" Jackson and Isaac sang.

Derek looked like he was about to snap and rip all of their throats out.

"I think you're missing one." Lydia said, biting her lip because she was slightly more fragile than the others.

Erica got up onto her knees and crawled over to Derek, pressing her lips to his nose with a loud kissing sound and pulled away, having left red lipstick marks on the end. "There we go." She said with a smile.

Derek had his eyes scrunched up tight as they had been since the moment Erica's lips had touched him and now they were all in a fit of hysterics. Even Stiles, who was trying so very hard not to had glassy eyes and bouncing shoulders.

"Now this is a Christmas miracle." Jackson laughed and had Derek not made a promise to Stiles he would have leapt up and thrown Jackson into the gaudy flashing tree in the corner. But a promise is a promise, and despite his suffering, the look on Stiles' face was worth it.

"You know maybe we should stop before we have to add 'Slasher' to the list." Boyd said.

“He loves it.” Stiles said, kissing his cheek and despite hating it, thoroughly, he did enjoy it.

Isaac leant into Scott’s shoulder as they laughed and the fire burned low in the little alcove. This had been his best Christmas in years, spent with friends and his pack. He wouldn’t give them up for anything, not anything.

“Merry Christmas everyone.” He said softly.

One by one they all said it back, exchanging hugs – except for Derek – and sitting back to enjoy their pack-family Christmas while there was still time, while they were all together, all of them hoping they could just live in that holiday for the rest of the year, and longer.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

By the time it was nearing midnight everyone was exhausted. For the last few hours they had all just sat around the living room chatting, Derek had retired to the couch to read one of his books, piping up from time to time when he had something snide or witty to say.

When he had had enough of their chattering he got up and tossed his book aside, tugging on the top of Stiles’ shirt before heading to the stairs.

“Well, I guess that means I’m going to bed.” Stiles said with a yawn. “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” He said with a grin and everyone let out a loud groan.

“That’s original.” Erica said, laying back on the floor and closing her eyes.

“You just going to sleep right there are you?” Boyd asked with a smile.

“It’s actually more comfortable than you think.” She said.

“Do you all mind shutting up now? We’re going to try and get some actual sleep.” Jackson said as he curled up with Lydia on the couch.

Allison’s eyes were looking heavy as she sat on the armchair and she just snuggled in a little deeper while Boyd lay down next to Erica on the floor.

“Yeah, it’s not bad.” He said with a shrug.

Isaac nudged Scott in the ribs and bobbed his head in the direction of the stairs so they got up and said goodnight to the rest of them, heading the same way as Derek and Stiles who had retreated to the relative sanctuary of Derek’s bedroom.

As soon as the door had closed behind them Derek had the antlers crumpled between his fingers and tossed across the room. Stiles chuckled as he pulled the fluffy Santa hat off his head and put it down on the dresser.

“Man, you really hated those things didn’t you?” Stiles said with a grin.

“If you ever make me wear something like that again you won't live to see another day.” Derek warned, realising he was still wearing the sweater and pulling it violently over his head.

“You’re such a sour wolf, come on, try and be merry.” Stiles said.

“Don’t push me. I have tolerated every-”

“Calm down! Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have forced you into the sweater and the ears and all the rest of it but it was a good night anyway, don’t you think?” Stiles asked.

Derek sighed huffily. “It was fine.”

“…but?”

“But I’m going to be feeling Erica’s lips on my nose for weeks… not to mention this place constantly smells like all the rest of them.” He grumbled, unzipping his jeans and kicking them off before climbing into the bed.

“You know, you can complain about it all as much as you like but you always say yes to having them over and almost always join in… anyone looking in at this from the outside would maybe think that you actually liked it this way.” Stiles said, the hint of a smile playing at his lips.

He removed the outer layers of his own clothing before crawling in beside Derek who had his arms folded and his eyebrows creased into their usual V shape. Derek just gave him a glare and Stiles shook his head.

“Well either way…” He leant up to kiss Derek’s nose. “Thank you for tolerating them, and me, I know you have to tolerate me at these things too.”

Derek gave a little roll of his eyes. “Well, that’s slightly enjoyable.” He muttered.

Stiles grinned. “Yeah?”

“Don’t push it.”

Stiles laughed before his hands were sliding back and forth on the silky fabric of Derek’s boxers and this time Derek’s lips twitched with a smile.

“You can't help yourself can you?”

“What? My hands? Oh no, these skinny guys have a mind of their own.” He said and Derek laughed before Stiles’ tongue was asking permission to slip behind his teeth and he had one leg either side of his hips.

“For a human you do that pretty quickly.” Derek teased, his hands looping around Stiles’ waist.

“Yeah well for a werewolf you’re pretty tame.” Stiles said, biting hard at Derek’s bottom lip and causing him to wince before letting out a growl low in his throat.

He shoved Stiles onto his back and crawled over him, loving the arrogant smirk on Stiles’ face. “You know that if I let myself go wild you won't stand a chance.”

“I don’t know, you were pretty wild when we first got together, all rough and tough when you wanted me.” He grinned.

“If you remember correctly you were also covered in scratches and bruises.” Derek said as he looked down at him.

Stiles shrugged. “I didn’t care about that; I always just wondered why you stopped.”

Derek leant down to whisper in Stiles’ ear. “I stopped when I realised that I was starting to care about hurting you. I didn’t want to do it anymore.”

“Oh come on, I was fine.”

“I was holding myself back even then, I can never lose full control with you Stiles. It wouldn’t be hard for me to do you some serious damage.” He said and Stiles sighed, a little annoyed.

“You don’t need to treat me like I’m a fragile human. I mean, I know, I’m kind of _the_ fragile human in this weirdo pack but a few scratches aren’t going to kill me. I _know_ you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.” He said, looking up at Derek and wrapping his arms around him.

“Not intentionally, but if I let myself lose control then it might not be by choice. Scott tried to kill you once, remember?”

Stiles groaned, and not in the good way. “Can we not talk about him while we’re mostly naked in bed please?”

Derek laughed. “You want me to distract you from that?” He purred.

“Please do, like, _really_ please do.” He said.

“Okay… answer me this…” Derek said as he leant down to suck gently on Stiles’ earlobe. “One…” He pulled back and moved his head to the other side, sliding his tongue along the inside of Stiles’ jawline. “Or two?”

Stiles smiled. “One.” He replied.

Derek inched himself further down, placing a soft kiss to one of his nipples. “One…” He turned his head to kiss the other. “Or two?”

Stiles had his eyes closed but pulled a thinking face. “Uh… two.” He said with a smile.

Derek inched himself down again. “One…” He said as he dragged his fingertips over Stiles’ chest and down his stomach. “Or two?” He asked while he stroked Stiles’ thighs with his palms.

Stiles let out a contented sigh, “two.” He said softly and Derek caught his fingers in the hem of his boxers, pulling them down to reveal Stiles’ already hard member beneath them.

As he pulled them down his legs and over his ankles he watched Stiles bite his lip and exhale heavily, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

“Shut up Derek.” Stiles mumbled.

“ _One_ …” He said, his lips finding the head of Stiles’ cock and taking it between them, his tongue lashing over the moist tip.

“One… yes, definitely one…” Stiles groaned, not even caring what two was going to be.

Derek just looked up at him and shook his head. “I’m not done.” He said. “One…” He repeated as his tongue went back to its merciless tormenting, sliding all the way down Stiles’ shaft and back up until he was taking most of his length into his mouth.

Stiles let out ecstatic moans and gave a few light jerks of his hips, making Derek smirk through his actions. When he pulled his mouth away and Stiles was left cold and wanting more Derek quickly took his hips and rolled him over, holding him up so that he was on his knees.

“Or two…” Derek said with a growl as he ran his tongue over Stiles’ puckered hole and making him sigh loudly.

“Two… oh yeah, two…” Stiles mumbled without breath as Derek lapped him softly, swirling his tongue around him and plunging it inside him with force.

The feeling of Derek’s tongue inside him, hot and not quite filling enough, made him hungry for more of him, to be filled completely by Derek and to feel his hips bracing against him.

“Or one, or both… _fuck_ …” Stiles grunted as Derek gave one last flick of his tongue before pulling himself back and sliding a finger inside him, curling it just enough to make him squirm beneath him. “ _Oh yeah_ , more Derek… _please_ …” He begged, pushing back and making Derek laugh.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re far too eager?” Derek hummed.

“You’re just as easy as I am…”

“I said eager Stiles, not easy.” He smiled. “But I’m not going to disagree with it.”

“Shut up and give me something worth bragging about.” Derek laughed again and added a second finger, making Stiles groan again.

He worked him open slowly, reaching over to breathe heavily in Stiles’ ear, letting out the occasional moan that had Stiles biting at his lip and gripping even tighter to the sheets. His fingers reached just deep enough to pay close attention to his weak spot and when he found it he repeatedly pushed against it, leaving Stiles a mess and at his mercy.

“Yeah… yeah Derek that’s it… right _there_ …” His breathing grew shallow and escaped in strangled grunts as he felt the pressure inside of him building, his crescendo so close it was almost upon him … when Derek stopped moving and removed his fingers with a cruel laugh.

The pressure Stiles had felt began to sink back inside him and he whimpered as his frustration began building instead.

“That…” Derek whispered into his ear, “… was for the _sweater_.”

“Oh come on you can't do that… that’s just pure evil.” Stiles said, shoving Derek back and collapsing onto his stomach.

“Maybe you’ll think twice about putting me in a festive sweater next time.” Derek said.

“Never, you’ll be on me again in two minutes tops.” Stiles chuckled.

Derek scoffed at him. “You want to bet?”

“As I recall we did have a bet to that nature… and I won if I remember correctly.” Stiles said.

“Don’t push it.” Derek said, remembering that the bet ended with a rather explosive argument and did not leave Derek in a very hospitable mood.

“So why don’t you push it, huh? Asshole.” Stiles grunted and Derek laughed.

“I had to pay you back somehow.”

“Well find another way!”

Derek turned away, pretending that he wasn’t grinning madly at the frustration in Stiles’ voice. He shrugged and turned back to him.

“Fine.” He said, grabbing Stiles’ shoulder and flipping him flat on his back and swiping his hand down over his stomach and leant in to pull the head of his cock into his mouth and taking all of him in.

“Holy-” Stiles said in a sharp inhale and threw his head back as Derek’s relentless tongue circled and swiped and his cheeks hollowed with perfection.

Derek’s hands reached underneath him to cup his ass and pull him in deeper, making Stiles squirm and the sweat began to bead on his forehead. He switched between long slow strokes that made Stiles’ head spin and the quick pull of his lips that had his stomach tightening and his jaw going rigid.

Derek could feel the tension building inside him and smiled, bringing him once again to the point of release and pulling back just in time. Stiles let out a pained whine and huffed loudly as Derek sat back against the bed frame with a smile.

“And _that_ was for the antlers.” He said, slightly out of breath and his lips red from their exhausting efforts.

“This is _not_ funny Derek Hale.” Stiles said.

“I think it’s well deserved actually.”

“You know one of these days I am going to… I swear you are going to pay…” Stiles said, sitting up beside him and glaring at him.

“Oh I’m going to pay am I?” Derek asked, still smiling.

“Yeah, you’re going to pay.”

“What are you going to do?” Derek challenged and Stiles just narrowed his eyes before lunging at him, tackling him down.

Derek laughed as he tried to win this little wrestling match. Of course he never would on raw strength but his determination was impressive so Derek let him pin him to the wall, his hot breath fanning the side of his face as his lips drew closer to Derek’s ear.

“Shut up and listen; I’m going to fuck you right now, I’m going to fuck you so hard it hurts and I’m not taking no for an answer.” He growled, his body through with Derek’s teasing.

“What are you waiting for then? Fuck me.” Derek said submissively, reaching over to the side of the bed to hand Stiles the bottle of lube.

Stiles growled as he slicked himself up, Derek pulling his boxers down to sit around his knees, and aligned himself perfectly as he forced himself all the way into Derek in one go, making him let out a loud yelp.

It didn’t seem to deter him though, lifting his body back up so that Stiles could ram his hips back into him again and again. He was sure that if Derek was human he would definitely be bruised but if there’s one good thing about dating a werewolf it’s that you can be as rough as you like and you still won't leave a scratch, not to mention Derek seems to enjoy it, like, _a lot_.

Derek’s hands braced against the wall as Stiles held one hand firmly on Derek’s hip and the other snaked up to entangle with Derek’s fingers. Derek let his other hand pull away from the wall, reaching back to hold onto Stiles’ waist.

Stiles was in ecstasy at even just the slightest touch from Derek and he let out a breathy moan. “Damn it if I don’t love you Derek fucking Hale.” He said, his breath getting louder with each thrust of his hips.

“You really do have a name kink thing going on don’t you?” Derek laughed, his eyes closed and lips suspended in a perpetual part.

Stiles growled a little. “Only yours.”

“Good,” Derek said, “Keep it that way.”

 

 

Scott and Isaac had rushed up the stairs not too long after the other pair, hands entwined and smiles impossible to remove from their faces. They paused at Isaac’s door and Scott gave him a quizzical look.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Just, give me a second.” Isaac said, sliding in through the door and shutting it back in Scott’s face.

He chuckled as he heard him moving things around inside before opening up the door again to let him in.

“You know, you can be a little weird sometimes.” Scott chuckled and Isaac rolled his eyes.

“It’s part of my charm.” He grabbed Scott by the wrist and pulled him into the room, stealing a kiss as he passed him.

Scott smiled as he looked at the layout of blankets and pillows on the floor by a couple of lanterns against the wall. He shook his head as Isaac collapsed down into the middle of it all and patted the empty space beside him.

Scott knelt down and crawled over to Isaac, ducking his head down and kissing him softly. He ran his tongue over Isaac’s lips, his eyes closed as he savoured the touch, the taste, everything about Isaac in that moment.

Isaac’s entire body hummed in reply, his own tongue stretching out to meet Scott’s, pulling their mouths in together and making the both of them sigh. When they finally broke Scott made himself comfortable, lying on his side and propped up on his elbow so he could see the beautiful lines of Isaac’s face as he held his hand.

“What’s with the lanterns?” He asked with a smile and Isaac shrugged.

“We don’t have a fireplace, candles would be a bad idea, and even when the pack isn’t here I don’t think Derek would appreciate us … _cuddling_ … like this downstairs by the actual fire.” He said. “He sure as hell didn’t appreciate it when I walked in on him and Stiles-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not information I need to hear!” Scott laughed.

“Sorry, sorry.” Isaac said, closing his eyes tight and wishing that he could get _that_ image out of his head.

“So…” Scott said softly, “Was this the best Christmas ever or what?” He smiled.

Isaac nodded. “I can say that honestly, yeah, yeah it was.” Especially considering the last few years Christmas hasn’t really existed in his house.

Scott looked guilty for asking, only thinking about how terrible his father was to him after the words left his lips. “I uh-”

“No, don’t be sorry. What could you possibly have to be sorry about? I just said this was the best Christmas ever.” Isaac said, smiling gently and stroking the soft skin on Scott’s cheek. “I mean sure… I miss my dad sometimes, he wasn’t always an asshole.”

“What… I mean when did…” Scott started, the words only a whisper leaving his lips.

“It’s okay,” Isaac assured him. As much as it hurt to think about his father, to talk about him, he had been building up the nerve to talk to Scott about him for a long while now. “It was after my mom left us, right after he got me out of foster care.”

“You never really explained that whole thing.” Scott said.

“Well, my mom left us when I was about ten or eleven, I think, my brother was already away and she used to drop me off at school. One day she uh… she never showed up after the final bell.” He nodded to himself, his eyes looking down and away from Scott’s, who was silently transfixed. “It was something like seven o’clock before I made it home. I waited for a while but she never showed so I had to walk. When I got home dad was tearing through the whole house trying to find any hint to why she left but she’d cleared out all her stuff.

“He started yelling things like ‘what did you do’ and ‘why is she gone, tell me, tell me’ and I didn’t even know that she had gone until he sort of… _screamed_ in my face ‘the bitch is gone and she’s not coming back so shut up’ and I guess I had never seen him so mad and I hid in my room the rest of the night. I didn’t know what he was going to do, all I heard was slamming doors and cursing and crying. I couldn’t call my brother because I didn’t know the number and dad had the phone anyway.

“The next day he apologised and hugged me and said he was going to find her and dropped me off with this old woman who used to babysit me. When he wasn’t back that night and she couldn’t contact him she got worried, and a week later he wasn’t back so I was put with a foster family while the state tried to track him down. That’s where I met Cassie; she was one of their permanent foster kids. She was a couple years older than me and I guess she liked to play mom for a while.” He smiled to himself, one of the few cheerful memories from that time. “When they got my dad back he had to go through the courts to get me back and they were sympathetic because he was looking for his wife and… well the rest of it doesn’t matter. After that is when he started to get angry at me, I think he blamed me for her leaving. Then my brother stopped calling for some reason, I mean maybe it was because my dad refused to let him talk to me, I don’t know, I never caught the whole story, and eventually he stopped trying. I don’t think he ever knew about what dad used to do to me. I was almost fourteen when we got the call… we hadn’t talked to him in two years and I hadn’t seen him since before mom left, he kept extending his deployment.

“Dad got a lot worse after that. He needed my grades to be perfect, made me work the graveyard shift… literally… and basically tried to get me to ‘do some damn good’ and told me ‘not to piss away my life doing nothing because that juts wasn’t going to be good enough’. Maybe it was the whole losing his wife and then his son… I don’t know.

“Either way, it doesn’t really matter now. Let’s hope dying early doesn’t run in my family.” He joked morbidly.

“Hey, don’t say that. Besides, you know what you’re up against now, and your mom didn't die.” Scott said.

“She might as well have.” He said coldly. “I never even… I mean I don’t know what…” He shrugged and sighed before turning his eyes back up to rest in the gorgeous brown of Scott’s.

“Well it’s her loss.” He smiled, trying to make things a little better.

“Damn right it is.” Isaac smiled, the thoughts slowly weaving out of his mind.

“I uh… I have something for you.” Scott said with a smile, trying to deflect the dampened mood.

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Isaac said, unable to hide his growing grin.

Scott squirmed about trying to pull a little wrapped box out of his pocket. “Here.” He said, handing it to Isaac.

“How did you keep this hidden in there all night?” He laughed.

“Just shut up and open it.” Scott said.

Isaac slowly picked at the wrapping, doing it just so to annoy Scott before pulling it all off and tossing it aside to reveal a small black box. “It’s not a ring is it?” He said with a smile.

“ _Shut up_ and open it.” Scott said again, ears going slightly pink.

As he pushed the box lid up his face dropped all expression and he knew that Scott could hear his heartbeat getting faster.

“So what do you think?” Scott asked, biting his lip.

“I… uh…” Isaac said, completely lost for words.

Inside the box was a small silver key, and he didn’t need to ask to know what it was for. It was the key to Scott’s front door. It’s funny how such a tiny little key could have such a big meaning.

“I know it’s stupid, I mean you never even use the door anyway and it’s more just a gesture thing but-” He was cut off when Isaac slammed his lips into his, scooting closer and just breathing in everything that was Scott.

“It’s the most perfect gift I have ever been given, like, better than my batman suit when I was six.” Isaac said and Scott laughed and kissed him again.

“What are you doing?” He asked as Isaac began furiously tugging at his clothes.

“What does it look like? I’m getting rid of all these clothes and I’m going to let you do anything you want to me and then I’m going to let you do it again and again and basically I’m your bitch from now until the New Year.” Scott laughed again but didn’t complain.

“Speaking of, what are we doing for New Years?” Scott asked, pulling his jeans off and kicking them away.

Isaac gave him a cheeky smile as he pressed his naked body into Scott. “Well me and Erica were thinking of going to this rave happening at an old warehouse.”

“Remember the last time we went to a rave?” Scott said, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s okay, I promise this time I won't kiss Erica… or Jackson.” He grinned again.

“You better fucking not.” Scott laughed as he made good on Isaac’s word to do with him as he pleased.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

_New Year’s Eve_

 

“So how exactly did you find out about this thing anyway?” Scott asked as he and Isaac walked down the deserted streets to the old warehouse.

Isaac shrugged. “Erica.” He said simply and Scott shook his head.

“Okay, where did _she_ find out?” He asked again and once more Isaac shrugged.

“I don’t know, she’s good like that.”

“So do you know who else is coming yet?”

“Uh, I think so. I know Stiles is bringing Erica and Boyd with him-”

“No Derek?” Scott asked with a raised brow, knowing that this was the last place that he would want to be.

“Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure his exact words were ‘not even if it kills me’. He’s such a grump sometimes.” Isaac said, smiling.

“What is it that Stiles calls him?” Scott asked.

“Sour wolf or something like that. It fits, I’ll give him that. You would have thought having a pack and things going reasonably well would cheer him up.”

“I think he just likes moping around, it keeps everyone at a distance.”

“Mostly.” Isaac snorted. “It doesn’t stop Erica, or me for that matter.”

“The other pack could still be playing on his mind, I mean I know they haven’t done anything yet but still.” Scott said as they rounded a corner onto yet another quiet street.

“Yeah… Oh, I also know that Jackson is going tonight.” Isaac said.

“What about Lydia?”

“I don’t know, I only know Jackson is going because Danny is taking his new boyfriend.”

“Danny has a boyfriend? And why would that give Jackson a reason to go?” Scott asked.

“Because Danny’s boyfriend is Ethan.” He said, not looking up at Scott’s shocked face.

“What? Ethan as in one of the twins from that other pack? That Ethan?” He asked, stopping in his tracks.

Isaac sighed. “Yes, that Ethan.”

“What is he doing with Danny?”

Isaac almost laughed. “Same thing that you do with me.” He offered and Scott rolled his eyes.

“You’re hilarious. You know what I mean; why Danny?” Scott said.

“Maybe because he likes him, I don’t know. They haven’t really posed much of a threat since they got here you know.”

“Still, I get why Jackson would be worried.” Scott said, worry lines creasing his forehead.

“Would you stop? It will be fine. I’ve seen them around school and Ethan seems to really like Danny, why would he hurt him?”

“Good question.”

Isaac sighed and they kept walking. “Come on, let’s just get there and you can confer with Jackson all you like.”

“Not jealous are you?” Scott teased.

“Shut up.” Isaac rolled his eyes as they walked a few more blocks, the muffled sound of music only just being picked up by their werewolf ears.

“You think we should tell Derek about this whole Ethan and Danny thing?” He asked and Isaac groaned.

“Only if you want him to roll his eyes and walk away. Danny isn’t a member of his pack so he doesn’t concern him, trust me, Jackson has been over so many times trying to get Derek to do something about it because he doesn’t trust the other pack. I mean, Derek doesn’t either but he can't be trying to protect everyone. I guess in his eyes Danny is a better sacrifice than one of us.”

“Dude, that’s horrible.” Scott said.

Isaac sighed. “Maybe but I kind of get why Derek isn’t doing anything.”

Scott just gave him a horrified look and Isaac shrugged. Derek couldn’t be expected to try and protect everyone. His main priority was to his pack and if he showed the other pack that there were even more people that he cared about – or at least that mattered to his pack – it would mean more ways for them to get to him if they wanted to. If Danny was in some real danger Isaac knew that Derek would do something. At least, he hoped.

“Look, you can't protect everyone Scott.” He said.

“Well someone has to try.” Scott replied, vowing to himself that he would keep an eye on Ethan, even if Derek wasn’t.

They reached the old run down warehouse and stopped at the door, a few people walking in from the shadowy lanes with big smiles on their faces.

“You ready then?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s get this over with.” Scott said with a grin.

 

 

“Come on, come on!” Stiles called as he stood outside Erica’s house, leaning on his jeep while Boyd waited in the passenger side.

He was a little cramped and looked slightly annoyed but still he sat there quietly while they waited.

“Can you believe it? How long does it take to get ready for a rave for god’s sake?” Stiles muttered.

“Told you we had time.” Boyd said from the car.

“Yeah but seriously it’s going to be next year before we even get there.” Stiles said, tapping his foot and checking his watch again.

It was less than a minute before Erica opened the front door and closed it behind her. “Night mom!” She called in a sing song voice, knowing that her mother didn’t really hear her.

She held her new leather jacket in one hand and her purse in the other as she scampered effortlessly down the porch steps in heels that had to be larger than six inches high. She wore tight black liquid-look leggings and a black singlet.

“I thought I called shotgun!” She said to Boyd who just shook his head.

“I don’t care if we have to strap you to the roof racks, you’re getting in that car now.” Stiles said as he opened his door to get inside.

Erica rolled her eyes but opened Boyd’s door anyway, climbing over him and into the back, using both their shoulders for support.

“Do you have to do that?” Boyd asked, a smile warming his features.

She raised an eyebrow. “Obviously. Now hurry up, we’re going to be late.”

Stiles just spun around, his eye twitching as she laughed.

They drove down to the warehouse, parking a while up the street because if the place got raided they didn’t want to be caught at the scene of the crime. Stiles felt like he had shrunk a few inches as he walked beside Boyd and Erica in her giant shoes but still he was excited for the night ahead. He was slightly disappointed that Derek had refused to come but as far as he knew he had Lydia and Erica to waste his time with and so long as he didn’t kiss either of them at midnight everything would be fine.

When they arrived Scott and Isaac were already there, standing around by the lights while Scott scanned the room.

“Hey! What’s with him?” Stiles said to Isaac.

“He’s looking for Danny.” Isaac said, like they’d already exhausted that conversation between themselves.

Stiles just gave Boyd and Erica a look which they returned with shrugs. Isaac rolled his eyes.

“Look, I see Jackson, how about we let him worry about Danny and go dance… or maybe we can get a drink from the back.” He said, tugging on Scott’s sleeve and pulling puppy-dog eyes.

Scott sighed and took his hand. “We’ll see you guys in a bit.”

Stiles waved a little and looked around for Jackson, spotting him walking towards them with Lydia and Allison beside him. As soon as he got close to them he spoke up, earning a groan from the three of them.

“Has anyone seen Danny?”

“Oh my god, seriously? Is everyone in love with Danny or something?” Erica said.

“Just the people who _really_ shouldn’t be.” Jackson said arrogantly.

“What do you mean?” Boyd asked.

“He’s worried about Danny dating one of the hot twins from that other pack.” Lydia said with her lips pursed.

“Oh god, poor Danny.” Erica said sarcastically. “I bet it’s so awful getting screwed by an attractive guy.”

“Uh, trust me… it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be.” Lydia said, putting a hand up to Erica who folded her arms and gave Jackson a smug grin.

“Maybe not for you.” Stiles said, eyebrows waggling madly.

Boyd rolled his eyes but laughed and Allison just shook her head with a smile.

“Can everyone please shut up?” Jackson growled.

“Wow, happy new year guys.” Stiles said.

“Maybe it’s not even that bad.” Erica said. “You know, the Danny thing, not the sleeping with a hot guy thing.”

“We don’t know them and he took an instant liking to Danny. I’m telling you; something’s going on here.” Jackson said.

“I have to admit, when it comes to werewolves there aren’t many coincidences. At least not in my experience.” Allison offered.

“Can we please just… go find a drink or something?” Lydia said. “We can take turns babysitting Danny and his boyfriend after that if it will make you feel better.” She hissed up at Jackson.

“Yes, drinks, _please_ let’s do that.” Stiles said. “I promise I will go and sit right next to Danny and his boyfriend if we can just have a tiny little amount of fun tonight. Come on, it’s freaking New Year’s.”

“As much as I hate agreeing with him… I do.” Lydia said.

“Hey, not arguing there, where’s the bottle at?” Jackson asked, slinging an arm around Lydia’s shoulders as they headed around the back to meet Isaac and Scott.

 

 

Derek sat in his quiet loft, reading one of the books on his shelf that was long overdue a good flick through. Stiles had moped around all day trying to convince him to go out that night but he wasn’t having any of it. A rave sounded like the worst punishment he could imagine. He’d been to his fair share once and he didn’t plan on dredging up those memories.

After hours of peace he heard footsteps approaching downstairs, only a single pair, and they made their way into the elevator. Almost as soon as they had begun their ascent did he know who it was, their scent filling the air.

He snapped his book shut and tossed it aside. He stood to face the doors square on and folded his arms as they slowly drew open.

“What do you want?” He asked harshly.

“Must you always greet me so coldly?” Peter asked, a hurt look flashing upon his features.

“You usually bring bad news or cause trouble.”

“Now that’s not always true.” He said, walking into the loft and taking a comfortable seat on the couch where Derek had just been.

“Prove me wrong, and I might even smile.” Derek said, face as stern as ever.

“Okay, now you’re just going too far.”

“What do you want?” Derek asked.

“You know, I had hoped that one day you would find it in your heart to forgive me for all the sins of my past.” He said, the look in his eye could almost be considered sincere.

Almost.

Derek just raised an eyebrow at him and Peter sighed. “Fine. I’m here because I think we should revaluate the situation with the other pack.”

Derek shook his head and turned to walk into the kitchen. “We’ve already had this discussion. I have no reason to suspect them of anything.”

“They’re nomads Derek. Do you know what the word ‘nomad’ means?” Peter said, calling over to him as he poured himself a glass of water.

“Yes but I don’t doubt that you’re going to tell me anyway.” He said.

“A nomad is a person who has no home, who lives in no place for too long. They travel around and never settle.” He said, following Derek and leaning his hands on the bench.

“What is your point?”

“My point is that she labelled _herself_ as a nomad.”

“That still doesn’t explain anything.” Derek said, annoyed.

“Why would a nomad make camp and send those betas to school? What if there’s something that they want from here before they can leave?” Peter said.

Derek thought for a moment, knowing that it was a possibility but not knowing what they could actually want from Beacon Hills.

“And what would that something be?”

“Well… that’s where my theory cuts out.” Peter said and Derek rolled his eyes.

“Do you at least have a way to figure that out?” Derek asked.

Peter smiled. “Now that… I do.”

 

 

Boyd stood to the edge of the crowd, watching the people bump and grind, faces glowing with iridescent paint and wrists illuminated with glow sticks. He chuckled to himself as he watched Stiles enjoying himself – far too much – as he danced with Erica and Allison. He could see Scott and Isaac dancing to one side, their eyes locked together in a way that made Boyd uncomfortable to look at for too long.

He was too busy observing and letting the music overtake his senses that he didn’t notice the small unimposing figure creeping up on him.

“Do you like to watch?” She asked, making Boyd turn around to see the shape in the shadows.

“Do I like to watch what?” He asked back.

“Just watch?” She said. “Rather than join in, you like to watch.”

Boyd just looked at her strangely. “Well, I’m not much of a dancer.” He heard her let out a quiet giggle before stepping into the light from the flashing strobes.

“I like to watch too, not that I can't dance.” She smiled, her blonde hair falling loosely beside her face and her eyes shining a very golden yellow.

“You… you’re Daisy, aren’t you?” Boyd asked, his eyes flashing yellow right back at her.

“So you do recognise me.” She said with a smile.

“Not when you were standing in the shadows, but now.” He said, turning back to look out at his friends dancing and laughing out on the floor.

“You seem so different to them.” Daisy said.

He turned back to eye her curiously. “Different how?”

“Different as in, not quite the same.” She smiled and Boyd chuckled.

“Well that narrows it down.”

“I’m different too.”

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you ever feel out of place?” She asked, walking slowly around to lean on a steel pillar just in front of him, staring out over the dancers.

He watched her for a moment, listening to her heart beat slowly amid the frantic beat of the music. “Sometimes, don’t we all?”

Daisy looked up at him, her wavy blonde hair so silky and her rosy cheeks still visible in the strobe lights. Her eyes were back to their pale grey-blue and yet still shining.

“We don’t have to.” She said softly. “Did you want to take a walk outside? In the quiet.” She added with a smile.

Boyd looked out to the crowd, to his friends, before looking back to Daisy with a nod. “Yeah, I do.”

She set off on her feet to the exit and Boyd followed her, slipping past the others quietly and without notice.

 

“Do you get the feeling we’re being watched?” Ethan said, his arms wrapped around Danny’s waist as the two of them moved their hips to the bass, hips that were pressed firmly against one another.

Danny laughed, “That’s just Jackson,” He looked up from under his eyes to see his best friend glaring over at them.

“Is he your ex?”

Danny let out a laugh that rivalled the volume of the music. “God, no… _never_ … he’s my friend and he can be a little…”

“Intensely creepy?” Ethan said with a smile.

“I was going to say overly protective.” He shook his head.

“Does he really think I would do anything to hurt you?” Ethan asked, his arms tightening around him.

“Of course not, he’s just seen me go through some bad break-ups. He’s seen me get hurt before and he’s doing what any good friend would do.” Danny said.

“Still… he’s totally creeping me out.” Ethan smiled.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t watch us all the time.” Danny slipped his hands up around Ethan’s neck and pulled his lips towards him.

Their bodies stilled as their tongues clashed and their lips fought one another and pulled one another back. Danny felt that spark in his blood and the heat running through him until they parted.

“We should get away from here, you and me, I can take you somewhere that we won't be spied on.” Ethan said, leaning his head on Danny’s and closing his eyes.

“Sometimes I think that might be a good plan.”

“So promise me?” Ethan whispered.

“Right now I would promise you anything.” Danny said back, a distant growl lost on his human ears.

Ethan smiled, not only at the look of adoration but at the annoyance in that growl that had escaped from Jackson’s lips.

 

The beat surged through the night, the crowded room a buzzing blur of noise and laughter and flashing lights to break the darkness apart. Isaac pulled on Scott’s hand as they headed to the edge of the dance floor, sweating and in need of a break from their feet before the ringing in of the New Year.

They headed toward Jackson and Lydia who were held in a close embrace to the side of the people.

“What’s the time?” Isaac asked as he grabbed a cup from the bench beside Lydia and downed it in one.

“Impatient are you?” Jackson asked, his hands on Lydia’s waist.

“What? For time to tick on and on? No, not really.” He shrugged with a smile.

“Anyone ever told you that you’re weird?” Jackson said.

“You, all the time.” Jackson rolled his eyes. “Still, I’m not staring off at Danny every five minutes.”

Scott bit his lip as he stifled a thought, he knew Isaac had seen him keeping a close eye on the pair too but didn’t want to defend Jackson, not right at that moment at least.

“Anyone seen the others?” Lydia said, knowing that this was not a conversation she was interested in having again.

“Stiles is entertaining both Allison and Erica-”

“The first and last time he’ll ever please two women at once.” Jackson smirked.

“Better to please two for a fleeting moment than to fail at pleasing one for longer.” Lydia said, her smirk just as harsh as his.

Jackson scoffed, “Please, don’t pretend you’re difficult to please.”

Lydia shrugged and Scott let out a laugh. “Okay, getting way too intimate for my liking.” He said.

“Where’s Boyd?” Isaac asked, scanning the room.

“I haven’t seen him in a while. He said he’d be back at midnight though, I think Erica has him strapped down for her midnight kiss if she can't find any other victims.” Jackson said.

“Who are we talking about now?” Erica asked as the three of them came bouncing over, Stiles’ head bobbing along to the music.

Scott smiled at him in his usual goofy way. “Dude, how much have you had to drink?”

“Shut up I love this song.” He said and the rest of them snickered a little.

“It’s not even really a song-” Scott started.

“Hey, leave him alone, he’s tearing it up out there.” Allison said, her smile beaming.

“Derek eat your heart out.” He said with a bump to Allison’s hip which she returned.

“You know it’s totally weird but I’m actually having a good time.” She said, raising her voice over the music.

“Hey, where’s Boyd?” Erica asked.

“We’ve been through this.” Jackson grumbled, taking another not so secret look around for Danny and his date.

“Oh my – would you stop with the staking for five seconds? Put your hands on me and let’s go dance. It’ll be midnight in ten minutes and I don’t want to start the New Year without a bang.” Lydia said, grabbing Jackson’s wrist sharply before pulling him to the dance floor.

“That was… probably not something I needed to hear.” Allison said, smiling.

“Come on Isaac, let’s dance before Scott steals you away for the rest of the night.” Erica said, grabbing him by the pocket of his shirt – a black button up – and dragging him away to dance near Lydia and Jackson.

Scott and Allison just looked at one another, the awkwardness was still there but they had also managed to put most of their tension behind them. Scott hoped that maybe they could work their way up to being something close to friends again.

“Oh for god’s sake, would the two of you just go off and dance already? I’ll just hang out here until midnight comes in which case I’ll ruin all of your moments of romantic fun out there.” Stiles said.

Scott shook his head and he and Allison shrugged at one another before following the lead of the others. It was nice to see her smiling again, not to mention Isaac was extra affectionate when he got jealous.

Stiles kept dancing as he stood on the edge of the crowd. He looked around for Boyd but couldn’t see him anywhere. All of his friends seemed to be enjoying themselves, the only thing missing was –

“If we’re going to dance the time is now.” He smiled a larger smile than he had all night as he turned around to see Derek standing behind him.

“You love to make an entrance don’t you?” He grinned, throwing himself into Derek’s arms.

“Well someone had to show up to make sure you weren’t kissing dangerous strangers.” He said with a smile.

“What? Erica’s a stranger now?” He winked.

Derek growled and Stiles laughed as he tugged at him to join the others.

“Okay! Okay, I’m sorry. Just – dance with me.” He grinned and Derek rolled his eyes with a smile on his lips.

For once he actually managed to sway his hips a little and seemed to be having fun, even if his eyes never left Stiles who had to keep looking away because he was blushing, but that could have been more to do with the alcohol that he had consumed over the course of the night.

The DJ called one minute to midnight and Allison gave Scott a shove in Isaac’s direction. Erica was reluctant to let go but was pried away as Allison wrapped her arms around Erica’s waist.

Lydia joked that Erica wouldn’t need to wait for Boyd to kiss someone at midnight and earned a scowl from both her and Allison and looks of keened interest from Jackson and Stiles – looks that earned both of them a smack on the nose and a wink from Erica.

Derek let out a growl but Jackson just grinned while Lydia told him to stop thinking about it or he would be going to bed alone that night.

Isaac held Scott in his arms, swaying slowly despite the fast paced beat. As they waited for the countdown Isaac mouthed the three little words that he meant more than any other and Scott closed his eyes, leaning into his with their cheeks together.

As doubtful as he had been about this whole rave thing it ended up being better than he had pictured. Not that it mattered, so long as the night ended with him wrapped up in Isaac’s arms then he could have been anywhere.

The DJ stilled the music, the numbers booming loudly through the speakers.

Ten…

Nine…

“Promise me you’ll still love me next year?” Isaac said in a whisper.

Scott smiled, kissing his cheek.

Six…

Five…

“Seriously? You need to ask?” He said as he cupped his face with his hand and stroked his jaw.

Three…

Two…

“No, but I need to hear it.” He whispered back and with one final number Scott pulled his lips into him, missing the yelling of New Years and wanting to kiss him one last time that year and continue on until the next.

Time went past them in slow motion as they shared that moment. It was as if no one else could see them, alone in their world and consumed with nothing but their love for one another in that instant.

All around them the other couples began to celebrate the transition – Stiles and Derek shared a kiss so hard they could have melted into one another, Lydia and Jackson shared a tender embrace, a rare occasion for the man who could act so careless, Allison and Erica pressed the corners of their lips together and held one another in a tight grip as they laughed, Danny and Ethan’s smiles were visible even through the tightness of their lips, and Daisy leant up, placing a cautious kiss on the side of Boyd’s lips before turning away and looking back to see his eyes still following her.

When he lost her in the crowd he turned back to the group, walked towards his friends and scooped up Allison and Erica in his arms, swinging them around in a big circle as their laughter filled the air around them.

Scott was the only thing that consumed Isaac’s mind, the only thing that he could think about until a scent caught in his nose, something so familiar and yet he couldn’t put his finger on it. He turned in its direction but almost as soon as it was there it was gone.

“What is it?” Scott asked, pulling his face back towards him.

“I thought…” He began but shook his head as if to rid it of the thoughts that had invaded him. He turned back to Scott with a smile. “Nothing, absolutely nothing.” He said, kissing Scott again and losing himself completely, forgetting all about that familiar scent.

Instead he went about the night like he had planned to, never wanting it to end and hoping that their elation never would.

If he had known what it was to bring, he may not have dismissed it with such ease.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

The next few days were their last days of freedom, by Monday they were back at Beacon Hills High.

After the rave Erica had mercilessly questioned Boyd about where he was for the last hours of the year, to which he told her that he was walking because the noise had made him feel slightly ill. He said nothing of his companion.

For some reason he felt compelled to keep his dalliance with Daisy a secret, even though he knew that Derek would kill him if he found out.

The two of them had met up again once after, taking a walk through the forest and talking about their plans for the year ahead and books they had read. More than anything else Boyd just enjoyed her company.

He knew what the others would say – that he couldn’t trust her, that him and Danny being _targeted_ by them had to mean something, but his instinct told him that she was no danger to them.

Isaac walked out of class that Monday afternoon with his phone in his hand and a smile on his lips. He hadn’t seen Scott since the night before.

Scott saw him from across the courtyard and walked over to him, striding alongside him and trying to sneak a peek at his phone screen.

“So why are you so smiley? Who’s messaging you?” He asked as he nudged him with his hip.

“I’m smiling because classes are over for the day and I was just sending a message back to Cassie.” He said as he pressed send and put the phone back in his pocket.

“Cassie? You mean that old girlfriend of yours?” He asked, his hands using the straps of his backpack for holds.

Isaac laughed. “She’s not an old _girlfriend_ ; she’s a _girl_ who happens to be an old _friend_.” He said.

“That’s what I meant; I didn’t think she was still here.”

“Yeah well she had some trouble finding a place to rent but she managed to find an apartment just before New Year’s. I bumped into her this morning so we switched numbers. We’re going to catch up sometime this week.” He said, slipping an arm around Scott’s waist.

“Oh really?” He asked, an oddly unsettling feeling setting up camp in his stomach. “When? Where?” He said before he could stop himself.

Good thing the rest of his thoughts didn’t slip out too. _Have you told her about us?_

Isaac laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.” He said, enjoying it way too much.

“I’m not jealous I just – okay, maybe a little, but I don’t know anything about her and to be honest you get a little secretive about her whenever I ask.” He looked slightly downtrodden and Isaac stopped both of them in their tracks.

“I have? Sorry, I didn’t even know I was doing it.” He said, looking into Scott’s eyes and tilting his head to the side.

“You’re pretty secretive about a lot of things from your past, your whole life really.”

“I guess I take after Derek in that way.” He said with a grin.

“Don’t let _him_ hear you say that.” Scott chuckled.

“Hey, I may be blonde but I’m not stupid.”

“Well just let me know… you know…”

“I promise you will have map coordinates and an exact time for our meeting so that you can spy on me all you want.” He said, pulling Scott into his arms. “Hey, once we get to catch up the three of us can go out and you can get to know Cassie yourself.” He said, smiling as he held tightly to Scott’s waist.

“That sounds good.” Scott nodded. “Sorry for being so-”

“Adorable?” Isaac grinned.

“Well I _was_ going to say pathetic.”

Isaac shrugged, “Either way it looks good on you.”

“Shut up.”

 

That afternoon Stiles went racing into his house and was all set to race back out again when his father called to him from the kitchen.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down there son. Get in here.” He said.

Stiles poked his head back around the corner and began walking to the kitchen. “Okay, whatever Mr Harris says you probably shouldn’t believe because the guy totally hates me.” He said pre-emptively.

“Stiles I’m not going to – wait, what did you do in Mr Harris’ class?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.

“What? No, nothing.”

The sheriff shook his head and pushed out one of the dining chairs with his foot. Stiles stared at it cautiously before walking slowly over and taking a seat across from him.

“Dad… what’s going on?” He asked.

“It’s your senior year, a quarter of it is already gone… you won't be at high school forever.” He said.

Stiles groaned. “Yeah dad, I know, but why do we have to talk about this now? Graduation is months away.” The sheriff stood up and walked over to the bench, pouring himself some more coffee and letting it sit for a moment.

“Do you know what you want to study at college yet?” He asked.

“ _Dad_ ,” Stiles grumbled. “No one even has applications open yet so why - ” He jumped as his father dropped a stack of college books in front of him.

“All of these have open days next month, and course listings. You can at least start looking.” He said.

“Through all of this?”

“I’ve got more. I just thought you might want a variety, seeing as you don’t know what you really want yet.”

“Yeah, alright, I see what you’re doing. I promise I’ll look through them okay?” He said with a sigh.

“Good, and next month I’ll be dragging you to open days all over the place, kicking and screaming and all.” He smiled, walking out of the kitchen with his steaming mug of coffee.

“Hey dad?” Stiles called, remembering something he had long forgotten to ask.

“Yeah?”

“Why… uh, well, why did you want to be the sheriff?” He asked.

The question took his a little by surprise. He leant on the frame of the archway and thought about it for a moment. “Well, I guess when I was growing up here there were a lot of things happening; you know this town is infamous for all sorts of attacks and deaths, mostly animal. That much hasn’t changed… that sort of stuff always interested me and then one day I saw this old couple getting mugged. I was probably only a few years younger than you at the time. I don’t know what came over me but I chased this guy off and just… the feeling when they thanked me, of doing something good and making a difference… I don’t know, maybe I have a saviour complex or something. This has always been my town; I wanted to help protect it.” He shrugged, his face clearly showing the memories flooding back. “Of course, that’s only a small part of the job. The rest of it can be pretty… well, they don’t advertise those parts anyway.” He said, “Why do you ask?”

Stiles shrugged a little. “Derek said that he wanted to be sheriff when he was young.”

“Derek said that?” He asked with his brows high. “Never would have pegged him for that kind of guy. Then again he was a lot different before the whole… well, you know.”

“Wait, what? You knew Derek when he was a kid?” Stiles asked, surprised that neither of them had mentioned it.

“I’ve been sheriff for a long time Stiles, I know a lot of people in this town.” He said with a small smile.

“Well what was he like then? Was he a normal kid? Wait, was he like a rebel because you wouldn’t have spent much time with the good kids down at-”

“Hold it! God son, calm down.” The sheriff said, smiling as he shook his head.

“Sorry… it’s just Derek doesn’t much talk about that stuff.” He shrugged a little but looked up hopefully.

The sheriff sighed. “Well yeah, he was different; of course he was different. Hell, it’s like he’s a whole different person.”

“Is that why you suspected him of those murders last year?” Stiles asked.

“Look, this is already a tough situation you’ve put me in here – with the whole ‘he doesn’t talk about it’ thing, I’ll tell you, just stop asking questions.”

“Sorry.” Stiles said.

He knew his dad wanted to tell him because he wanted to know, but he didn’t want to be the one to cause an argument later because he knew Stiles would end up even worse off.

“Yeah, I guess that’s why I suspected him. I mean we figured out early on that the people who had been killed were linked in some way to that fire, and then when Scott put Derek’s name into the mix…”

Stiles stopped listening for a moment as he remembered that. It was kind of a stupid plan but at least it worked out in the end.

“… you know,  the traumatic even in childhood and the fact that he was gone for something like five years made him look all the more guilty.”

“So… what was he like?” Stiles asked softly, his father giving him a look before letting out another sigh.

“Well, he was actually happy, you know, smiled and all, and I tell you what he was cocky as all hell, cheeky too.”

“Derek? Cheeky? You sure you’ve got the right Derek Hale there dad?” Stiles smiled, Derek could be sarcastic but cheeky was not something that Derek ever did often, at least not knowingly anyway.

The sheriff huffed out a laugh. “Yeah well things change people Stiles, god, I know I’ll never forget the look on his face when I told him.” He shook his head.

“Wait, what?” Stiles asked, not sure that he’d heard correctly.

“I was the one who had to tell Derek and his sister-”

“Laura.”

“Yeah Stiles, I know. I had to tell the two of them that almost all of their family was gone.” He said, a look of pain evident in his furrowed brow. “They were looking at me with all this hope in their eyes even though I think they already knew. I had to say it, and then it was like…”

Stiles said nothing, he just looked up at his dad trying to get the words out, knowing that this was what he was talking about earlier. Not his entire job left him feeling like the hero.

“You could just see them change, both of them. She was crying so hard and he just cut himself off, it was like he shut down and… well, then there was a funeral and I think they left just after that.” He said. “I’ve been to a few of those too.” He nodded with wide eyes, as if he wanted to forget just how many he could count and Stiles felt a little guilty.

“Sorry dad, I didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t need to be apologising Stiles. Just, please don’t ask me to tell you anything else about Derek, not that I know anything more, just that I don’t want to get in the middle of your relationship if he doesn’t want you to know this stuff. I wouldn’t want you to know it either.” He said. “Trust me, some things you don’t need to know.”

“Okay, thanks Dad.” He said with a weak smile and the sheriff walked over to him, pulling his head into his side in an attempt at a hug.

“You look through those books okay? Shove them in your bag and take them to Derek’s – yes, I know that’s where you were going.” He said.

“I don’t have to go, you know, if you’ve got some time…”

The sheriff sighed. “Sorry son, this is my third coffee in the last hour, I'm on the night shift.”

“No, it’s cool. If I – well if anything catches my eye I’ll let you know.” He said lifting one of the books with a smile.

“Don’t be afraid to pick the thing you really want Stiles, I don’t care what it is.”

“Dad you know we can't afford anything-”

“Don’t talk like that Stiles. You’re smart enough for a scholarship and even if I have to take out an extra loan on this place we’ll get you where you want to go.” He said firmly. “Plus, there’s a little stashed away that your mother left you. She told me not to let you have it for anything other than college but I was going to pay for that anyway and give some to you when you finally wanted to buy a house, god knows the market is tough these days…”

“Dad – you seriously think about this stuff too much.” Stiles said.

The sheriff smiled warmly. “Stiles sometimes believe I don’t think about you enough. I want you to have everything you – well, I want you to have everything. If you need anything, ever, you know you can call me. Don’t you?” That last part came out a little quieter than the rest and Stiles stood up, engulfing his dad in a hug and almost spilling his coffee while he nodded.

He sincerely hoped his dad knew how much he meant to him. Maybe he didn’t show it all the time, maybe he’s been too distracted with a boyfriend and supernatural werewolf crap to show him but he swore he would change that.

“Road-tripping to the open days sounds fun.” He smiled.

“Good.” He said as Stiles finally let him go. “No go on, get out of here.” He smiled and Stiles began to head out when the sheriff called him back to collect the books that he had purposely tried to leave behind.

No way was he getting away with that.

 

When he made it to Derek’s the rest of the pack was already there, squabbling over one thing or another. Isaac informed him that it was pack movie night and once he had mentioned it the smell of popcorn wafted in from the kitchen.

Stiles walked in, throwing his keys on the bench and dropping his backpack with a thud.

“Dude, what do you have in there, bricks?” Scott asked, walking out with a packet of potato chips.

Stiles rolled his eyes, “College books.”

“Good luck man.” He said with a smile.

Stiles looked over to where Derek was standing up against one of the pillars, shaking his head and staring out at the pack getting comfortable in his living room. He walked over to him and smiled at him, resting his chin on Derek’s shoulder.

“Look at them, they’ve been arguing about which movie to watch since they got here. They’re no closer to an answer either. Where were you?” He said.

“Take it easy, I was just talking to my dad.”

“About what?”

 _You, your family, the past_. “College and stuff.” He said.

Derek just nodded, trying his hardest to scowl out at his pack when really the warmth was showing all over his scowl-y face. It looked like he actually wanted to smile.

Stiles bit his lip a little. “Careful Sourwolf, your Derek is showing.”

Derek frowned and looked over at him strangely. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He said with a kiss to his cheek. “Did anyone ask _you_ what you wanted to watch?”

“Yes!” Jackson called and Stiles sent a glare his way. “He just growled a bit.”

“What – Derek? _Growling_? That is slander, right there.” Stiles said sarcastically.

“Yeah you’re right, sue me.” Jackson smiled. “Would you guys hurry up and pick something?” He grunted at the three girls as they flicked through the hard drive before looking up to glare at him.

“ _We_ have, you’re the one who says no to everything.” Allison said.

“Uh, correction… we _all_ say no to everything.”

“Why don’t we just watch some crappy horror movie that we’re all going to hate?” Erica said.

“Or…” Isaac said slowly. “We put on like three movies that you guys want to watch and next week you have to sit through our choices.” Isaac smiled cockily.

“Now that idea, I like.” Jackson said, the same arrogant grin on his face.

Lydia just gave the two of them one of her death stares and tilted her head to the side.

“You realise you’re giving her permission to torture you, right?” Boyd chuckled.

“I’m used to it.” Jackson said.

“Well then pucker up.” Lydia said.

They chose a couple of movies, two of them seemed to have the support of the room, one, not so much, but they endured it anyway.

Derek and Stiles were curled up together in Derek’s favourite armchair because he refused to let anyone else sit in it and Stiles refused to sit anywhere else; Derek didn’t mind. Isaac and Scott were cuddled up on the couch under a blanket. Lydia and Jackson lay together on the floor, a roll out foam mattress and pillows underneath them. Derek almost looked surprised when he had seen them take it out but didn’t bother to question it, instead he just rolled his eyes. Allison, Boyd and Erica were squished up together on the two-seater with the popcorn and a blanket over their legs. When asked if they wanted the larger couch – Isaac and Scott completely okay sharing the smaller one – they said they would manage, the two girls happy sitting next to Boyd in the middle because he was warm and liked the company.

Boyd’s mind wandered to Daisy for a moment as he stared at the three couples in the room. He never really wanted intimacy with anyone until he started to think about it. Sure, he had been intimate with people before, but he had never experienced real closeness to someone. Probably part of a coping mechanism so that he wouldn’t get hurt, but he knew that one day he might meet someone who would make him want to break that seal, too bad he couldn’t say anything to anyone; at least not yet, and not until he knew exactly what Daisy wanted too. He wanted to trust her but he couldn’t quite, not just yet.

During the second movie Scott rolled over to face Isaac in the small couch space, his body pushing Isaac’s back straight against the back of the couch. He looked at him with a silent smile playing at his lips before reaching up to kiss him, both of their eyes closed as they engulfed one another. Had they been anywhere else Isaac would have pushed further, but for now they would have to settle for secret couch kisses; which he didn’t mind at all.

“I swear to god if you two don’t cut that out in the next five seconds I am going to come over there and rip your dicks off.” Jackson said, spinning around to glare at them and Scott just let out a loud laugh.

“Seriously dude, it was just a kiss.” Isaac said, chuckling.

“Well stop it; it’s like right in my ear.” Jackson said.

“Oh it is not. You know you can kiss your girlfriend if you want to and I won't complain.” Scott said.

“Maybe he’s just jealous because he wanted to be kissing Danny and the two of you just remind him of that.” Erica threw in and most of them laughed – except Derek of course, though he did seem to be slightly amused.

“That sounds plausible.” Scott said with a grin and Jackson just huffed with his nostrils flaring.

“You want to take this outside McCall?”

“Don’t you mean ‘upstairs’?” Boyd threw in almost too quickly and even Derek managed a chuckle at that one.

Jackson stormed off to get another batch of popcorn going and Lydia was left smiling. “You know he hates it when you joke about that.” She said.

“Is that because it’s true or because he wishes it were true?” Stiles asked.

“I will come in there and kick your ass Stilinski.” Jackson called.

“No, it’s because none of you seem to think that Danny’s relationship with Ethan is anything to worry about and he thinks something is up.” Lydia said.

“I believe him.” Scott said. “I don’t think we should trust them.”

Derek sighed. “We’re looking into it.” He said.

“Looking – wait, _who’s_ looking into it?” Stiles asked.

“Me. I am.” Derek said.

“You said we.” Lydia said suspiciously.

“Oh god, please don’t tell me you mean that nut-bag uncle of yours?” Jackson said, forcing a handful of popcorn into his mouth as he walked back into the room and sat down with Lydia.

“Come on Derek, no.” Stiles said.

“It was his idea so he has to do something. Better I know his plans than I figure them out later.”

“Yeah but you can't trust him, hell, I trust that other pack more than him.” Scott said.

“I think I’ll just pause the movie for a minute.” Allison said, sensing that things were going to turn into a pack meeting more than anything else.

“What exactly is his plan?” Erica asked.

“As far as I know… he’s spending some time with the alpha.” Derek said a little uncomfortably.

“Oh yeah, great plan.” Jackson said.

“There were other aspects of his plan but I haven’t decided on whether they would be _good_ ideas yet.” Derek said.

“Well maybe you should share them.” Isaac said.

Derek sighed. “He thinks that we should get close to _all_ of them.”

They all looked to one another cautiously. “You mean, spy on them?” Erica asked.

“Essentially… yes.”

“Well isn’t that a little suspicious?” Allison asked.

“Like I said, I’m still thinking about it.” Derek said.

“I think we should do it.” Boyd said and all eyes turned to him. “I’m just saying that I’m willing to put my hand up for it.”

Erica gave him a quizzical look but turned back to Derek. “If Boyd thinks it has some value then I’ll put my hand up too.”

“We can always double date with Danny.” Lydia said with a shrug.

“And me and Allison can cosy up to the other twin.” Erica smiled.

Allison snorted a little. “Oh can we now?”

“I just think you and I could make him talk better than someone like Boyd could.” She shrugged, a wicked grin still plastered on her face.

“So that leaves Daisy.” Boyd said. “That was her name right?” He added quickly.

Derek sighed. “I’m not sure about this. I won't put any of you in danger for a hunch that we haven’t confirmed. If they are up to something I don’t want any of you alone with them.” He said. “And anything you learn I want to know about it.”

“And we’ll make sure to tell you whenever we meet them, look Derek we all want to help. We’ll do whatever it takes.” Erica said sincerely.

“Yeah Derek, we’re all in this thing, together.” Isaac added.

“All of us,” Allison added. Sometimes she felt like she wasn’t quite a member of the pack and she never thought she would, but she wanted to be a part of it.

Derek hesitated for a moment before letting out a defeated grunt. “Fine. But I mean it, I want to know everything that happens, anything you hear. The more information I have the better we can assess the whole situation.”

“That’s where me and Lydia come in. You all know we’re the brains of this whole operation.” Stiles grinned and Lydia just nodded.

“So what are me and Scott going to do? Sit around and watch?” Isaac asked.

“Exactly.” Stiles said. “You’ve got to watch the whole thing, subtly of course. Or you could keep an eye on Peter.”

“Yeah, bags not doing that job.” Scott said with a scoff.

“No, that will be my job.” Derek rolled his eyes.

“Text Danny then, tell him Friday night is date night. He’ll be so thrilled.” Lydia said, nudging Jackson whose mouth was full of popcorn.

“Can we put the movie back on now? Plans are done and they’re pretty simple so…” Erica said, taking the remote from Allison and giving them all a smile.

“You better, I want you all out of here before it gets too late.” Derek said. “It’s a school night and I don’t want anyone’s parents on my back. Least of all Allison’s.”

“My dad is retired, remember?” She smiled.

“I’m sure he would love to make an exception though.” Derek said.

“True.” Allison admitted as she pressed play again.

“If I hear the two of you making out back there-” Jackson started.

“We know, we know – there’ll be a lot of touching and screaming.” Isaac said and Scott laughed.

“Yeah and not in the good way either.” Jackson added.

“Would all of you please shut up and watch? I’m sick of the sound of your voices.” Erica said.

Even though her words were cold her voice was warm. She couldn’t hide her affection for her adopted family, none of them could – and none of them would admit it either. But somehow, it worked.


	20. Chapter Twenty

The pack filed out of the loft after they had finished the third movie, all but Scott, Isaac and Stiles. Derek just gave the final three blank stares before he headed off to bed.

“Good night.” Isaac said in a sing-song voice.

Derek’s hand shot up and he flicked a small sarcastic wave back at them without turning around and Stiles chuckled.

“Aw he’s such a sweet heart isn’t he?” He said sarcastically.

“He’s going to kill you for that.” Scott said.

Stiles scoffed. “If he had actually killed me for all the things that he’s said he’s going to kill me over… well, I’d be pretty damn dead.”

“Well you’d have a pretty wrecked throat at the least.” Isaac said.

“Yeah well that could also be from-”

“Okay! That’s enough.” Scott said, shaking his head,

He walked over to the mattress on the floor and began rolling it up, knowing that Derek would bitch and moan if it was still there in the morning.

“You guys want something to eat?” Isaac asked as he headed over to the fridge, opening it to look inside.

“Hell yes.” Scott called.

“Are you serious? We spent all night eating popcorn and potato chips and like, all other manner of junk food. How can you want food now?” Stiles asked.

Isaac shrugged. “Werewolf.”

“You should see us go _out_ to eat.” Scott said.

“Can you imagine that double date with Ethan and Danny? Jackson and Ethan are going to have a huge bill.” Isaac laughed.

“Hey, at least Lydia doesn’t eat much.” Stiles added.

“Dude, does she eat anything?” Scott said.

Stiles nodded, finishing off the last of the popcorn in one of the bowls on the counter. “Yeah, she’s come over to my place a few times to just rage about Jackson – the girl ate like two whole tubs of ice-cream.”

“I would too if I had to deal with him all the time.” Isaac said. “Why do you think she does it?”

“Maybe he’s nicer that we think, maybe there is actually something half decent about him.” Scott offered.

“Or, maybe he’s just got a really big-”

“No! _No_! I am done!” Scott said, covering his ears with pillows.

Isaac and Stiles grinned as they looked at one another. “Prude.” They said together.

“Well you can have discussions on your own about the size of – I’m not even going to say it.” He shivered a little. “Either way, I am so out.”

“Okay, promise we won't say another word about it.” Isaac said, pulling a bag of frozen fries from the freezer.

“You’re going to eat all of them aren’t you?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah.” Isaac said.

“You know, the two of you have a weird friendship.” Scott said shaking his head.

Isaac and Stiles just looked at one another again, confused.

“So anyway…” Stiles said, sitting down at the bench. “What do you guys _really_ think of this interference play we’re doing with the other pack?”

Scott shrugged, walking over to sit on the stool next to him. “I think it’s either going to work, or it’s not.”

“Yeah, that’s good Scott, way to state the mind-numbingly obvious.” Stiles said.

“Well, if they’re hiding something it’s going to go either way, if they’re not then it’s probably going to blow up in our faces.” He clarified.

“Well let’s hope they’re hiding something then.” Isaac said, pouring the frozen chips onto a tray and tossing them into the oven.

“I just mean that this is going to be so obvious that we’re up to something if we all start hanging out with them at once. Seriously, why wouldn’t that raise any alarm bells?”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point. You want me to tell Erica, Boyd and Allison to cool it for like a week or something?” Stiles said.

“You see, that’s the problem.” Isaac said, leaning his hands on the bench. “This could take weeks _anyway_ and to make it work we might have to space it out. If they do have something planned who’s to say it won't already be _done_ by the time we figure it out?”

“Ooh, we could totally throw a party here and invite them, and some other people from school. That way it doesn’t seem like so much of a threat.” Stiles said. “Think about it, why would we do anything in front of a whole bunch of people who don’t know anything about the supernatural? That would just be moronic.”

Scott and Isaac gave each other a look, like they almost thought it could be a decent idea.

“Hell, we could almost pretend that half of us didn’t want them here… but I’m pretty sure that crap doesn’t _actually_ work.” Stiles added.

“Is your brain just full of useless ideas?” Isaac asked.

“You’re hilarious.” Stiles said, getting up and heading towards the stairs. “Don’t eat the whole damn kitchen!” He called back.

He headed up the stairs and straight for Derek’s room, pulling his belt off and removing his outer-shirt before he walked through the door. He knew Derek wasn’t asleep so he didn’t bother trying to be quiet. Even when he does try, he knows Derek can still hear him anyway.

“You sleepy Sourwolf?” He asked as he pulled off his jeans and kicked them aside.

Derek was sat up in bed reading in the light of his lamp. He turned the page and pretended that he couldn’t hear Stiles or even see him so he plonked down next to him on the bed.

“You know, if you’re feeding Isaac and Scott too you’re going to need to start re-stocking your kitchen like – daily.” He said.

Derek just slipped his finger behind the next page and Stiles got impatient.

“Hey, would you talk to me?”

“I just spent all night huddled up to you in a one-person armchair, isn’t that enough?” He said, not looking up.

“No, of course not, there were people there.” He said.

“That didn’t stop you from doing _anything_.” Derek looked at him with playfully accusing eyes.

Stiles smirked a little. For a while during one of the movies he had been stroking Derek’s leg, slowly moving upwards until his was rubbing his semi-hard-on through his jeans. “Don’t tell me you didn’t love it.”

“You’re lucky Jackson didn’t notice and call you out on it.” He said, turning back to his book.

Stiles scoffed. “Please, you’re just impossibly good at controlling yourself.”

“I am now.” Derek said. “I’ve had months of making sure I stayed in control because just the smell of you was enough to make me want to turn.”

“Ah yes, the beginnings of our relationship. You know out of control Derek was actually pretty sexy.”

“So you keep saying.”

“What? Can’t I enjoy it when you lose control?”

“You can enjoy it all you like, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“We’ve been through this Stiles.” Derek said, snapping shut his book. “I don’t want to hurt you. It’s that simple. You have no idea how fragile you are.”

“I’m aware of my weak human body thank you very much. Derek, a few bruises don’t bother me.” Stiles said, sidling up to Derek and running his fingers through his hair.

“I leave bruises on you now Stiles, and they might not bother you but they bother me.” He sighed. “Why can't you just leave it at that?”

“Because I don’t want you to see me as this weak human. I don’t want to be some fragile thing that you’re always too afraid that you’re going to break to actually enjoy yourself.” He huffed.

“Is that what this is about? You think I don’t enjoy myself?” Derek asked, turning on his hip to face him.

“No, I know you do but… I don’t know, you seem different since I got attacked by the Maeve. Before that you didn’t worry so much if I had the odd bruise or bite mark. Last week you left red scratches on my back – you didn’t even break the skin – and you punished yourself for like three days. Don’t think I didn’t notice that because I did.”

“I almost lost you Stiles…” He said, putting a gentle hand to his cheek. “Of course I’m different since then. That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy doing all the things we do now.”

“Did you ever think that maybe _I_ enjoyed it when you got a little rougher?” Stiles muttered, looking away from Derek’s gaze.

Derek’s lips twitched into a smile. “Is that why you’ve been doing sit-ups recently? Are you trying to make me think you can take a little more?”

“You know about the sit-ups?” Stiles asked, having been trying to hide the fact that he was working out from Derek.

Well, semi-working out.

“Stiles, I see you naked a lot, of course I’m going to notice when your body changes, even if it’s only a little bit.” He said, sliding his hand under his shirt and lifting it up so that he could wriggle down and kiss him just beside his navel.

“Does it look any better?” He asked, fishing for compliments, and Derek chuckled.

“You look great no matter what you do.” Derek said.

Stiles scoffed. “Cop out. You wouldn’t like me so much if I was fat. Why _do_ you like me anyway? You know, apart from the whole scent thing – which I find totally weird by the way because all I should really smell like is old socks and semen-”

“ _Stiles!_ ” Derek said, laughing. “You know why I like you, and the way you smell is only a part of it.”

“I think we got off topic here.” Stiles said and Derek sighed.

“Do you want me to leave a nice bite mark next time? Will that make you happy?” Derek said, shaking his head.

Stiles shrugged. “It’s not bad… It’s a start anyway.” He said.

“Come here.” Derek growled, pulling Stiles down so that they were lying together and Derek made himself comfortable, his arm draped over Stiles’ waist. “Get some sleep.”

“Oh come on, after the touching during the movie and after all that talk… we’re just going to go to bed?” he whined.

“It’s a school night.”

“Yeah, okay _dad_.”

“That won't help you get laid.”

“Yeah I know, maybe you should tell me a bedtime story then.” He smiled.

Derek sighed loudly before reaching up to turn off his light. “Once upon a time…”

“Ow! Hey, no pinching!” Stiles yelped.

“Go. To. Sleep.”

“Can you at least sing me a lullaby? _Ouch_! I said no pinching.”

Derek just laughed to himself.

 

The next morning Derek slipped out of bed early, in need of some peace and quiet. He knew he would only get a few minutes of it as he sat down at the table with a cup of steaming coffee in hand. He looked around for something to read when he remembered something Stiles said to Scott the night before and looked down at his backpack, still propped up against the bench chair.

Interest playing at him, he opened the zip and took out the books from the various colleges from not only around the state but around the country too. Derek sighed, flipping through the book from California State to look at all the different courses.

There were so many things offered now, even more than the few years since he had been looking through similar books. He tried not to think about that.

The next book was from Portland State, and another from Walden, Dalton and Stanford. There were another two but Derek didn’t want to see in case they were even further away from Beacon Hills. As much as he wanted Stiles to get into a good college and do well, the last thing he wanted was for him to leave and study on the other side of the country.

“Well, well, look who’s snooping.” Derek jumped at the sound of Stiles’ voice from behind him and shut the book from Walden, pushing it away from him and getting up to fix himself some breakfast without a word. “Oh come on, you can’t say you didn’t hear me.” Stiles said.

“I hear you, I just wasn’t paying attention.” Derek grumbled.

“So what looks good then?” He asked, sitting down in Derek’s chair to look through one of the books.

“Some of them are pretty far away.” Derek said. “You really want to go halfway across the country for college?”

Stiles shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. I take it _you_ don’t want me to.” He said with a half-smile.

“At least I’d get some quiet.” Derek said, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

“You’re funny. Let’s see what’s on at Cal State then.” He said, slouching over as Derek sat beside him to eat.

As they settled into the quiet, Isaac walked down the stairs of the loft with Scott on his tail.

“All I’m saying is that you could have mentioned it.” Scott said, heading straight to the fridge.

“We saw each other for like five minutes Scott, I’m not going to tell her everything that happened since we saw each other last.” Isaac said as he sat up on the bench.

Stiles and Derek looked up for a second before turning back to their tasks.

“You two look very domestic.” Isaac smirked and Derek just looked up at him, his mouth full of cereal.

“Why don’t you focus on your own domestic problems?” He mumbled as he chewed.

“You know you’ve been eating a lot lately Derek, I think you might be getting a little out of shape.” Scott and Stiles looked over at the other two pushing each other’s buttons.

Derek raised an eyebrow and pushed his chair back. He stood up and took hold of the hem on his hooded sweatshirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it to Isaac. His trim figure was anything but losing its shape and Stiles let his eyes ravish his naked torso. Derek gave Isaac a smile before sitting back down and spooning a heaping helping of cornflakes into his mouth.

“Well that answers that.” Stiles grinned over at Isaac who laughed.

“Can you at least think about it?” Scott said and Isaac sighed.

“When did you become the insecure one?” He slipped off the bench and took the bottle of water from Scott as they walked back up the stairs arguing over the little things.

“I’m not insecure I’m just saying…”

Stiles chuckled at them and went back to reading about their humanities and science courses while Derek could finally finish his breakfast in peace.

It was true; both of them had become very domestic in recent months. It was a fact that Derek resented and Stiles couldn’t be giddier about. Derek may need to prove himself to the pack more often to prove that he hadn’t gone soft as it were but that didn’t mean that he didn’t like his relationship with Stiles. The two had been through a lot and it hadn’t been without their fair share of bumps and bruises but Derek was finally opening himself up to show Stiles another side of him.

Though if he told anyone about that side he would most definitely deny it.

He shovelled in one last mouthful and stood up to put his bowl by the sink. He looked over to his sweatshirt and grabbed it off the bench. As he was about to pull it back on he felt Stiles tug at his jeans from his chair.

“Hold up a minute.” He said and Derek turned to face him, stepping closer.

Stiles adjusted his grip to pull Derek closer and when he was standing inches from him he ran his hands up and down the back of his thighs and placed a slow wet kiss to the left of his bellybutton.

Derek exhaled heavily and Stiles’ tongue slipped out and ever so slightly grazed his skin. He put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder and he pulled his thighs in closer as his tortuously slow tongue made its way down to the line of his jeans before his teeth nipped at the waistline.

Stiles looked up hungrily with an arrogant smirk before his skinny fingers were pulling the button out and unzipping Derek’s jeans.

“Why do you always go commando in the mornings?” He said with a grin.

Derek tilted his head to the side. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it.”

“Oh I definitely didn’t say that.” He said as he jimmied them down to expose Derek’s hardening cock.

Derek’s hands gripped onto Stiles’ shoulders tightly as his tongue dragged across his tip and urged it into his mouth. He gave a few gentle sucks before slowly taking more of him in. Derek let out a feeble groan as Stiles grazed his hands over his bare ass and pulled him in deeper.

He took in Derek’s length until he hit the back of his throat and began pulling his hips back and forward. Derek’s grip on his shoulders grew a little painful so without breaking his contact he grabbed his hand and directed it to the back of his head. He matted his fingers in Stiles’ hair as his tongue swirled around him, hot and wet and hitting all the right spots.

His other hand took hold of the table to prop himself up as his legs started to get weaker. Stiles groaned as he slid his mouth down and the vibrations sent a shiver up Derek’s spine and caused him to let out a carnal yelp.

His breathing grew shallow and his lips parted as he felt the tightening in his stomach. He cupped Stiles’ head with his hand and threw back his head as he picked up the pace. He was fast and frantic and with every pull of his lips Derek drew closer until he was on the brink of pure pleasure.

“ _Stiles_ …” He said in a raspy voice giving him a sharp tug on his hair.

He just held on tighter to his hips and continued his ravenous assaults until Derek’s groans were escaping with every breath and his heat was exploding with white hot bliss.

His knees buckled as he gripped the table, trying to hold himself up as the waves of pleasure washed over him. Stiles took all of him in and swallowed it down, a little dribbling down his chin.

He released Derek and let him collapse back on the table to catch his breath. He drew the back of his hand over his chin and leant back in his chair proudly, his jeans incredibly tight. After a few minutes of gathering his breath, Derek’s hands lifted to button up his jeans before sliding off the table and grabbing Stiles roughly and pulling him into a sloppy, needy kiss. He grabbed him by the shirt and gave him a tug, trying to drag him up.

“Where are we going?” Stiles said, standing up and letting him haul him out of the kitchen.

“Up.” He said simply.

They headed quickly up the stairs and into the bedroom where Derek’s arms were wrapped around Stiles and their lips were inseparable as they tumbled onto the bed. Derek pulled off Stiles’ shirt and tore away his lips to ravish his torso and flick his tongue over his nipples.

“You can't seriously be up for round two already… _uhn_ …” Stiles said as he bit down on his lip.

Derek pulled himself away and leant over to the bedside table and handed the elongated bottle to Stiles, raising an eyebrow seductively.

Stiles scoffed with a half-smile. “You know for an alpha you’re awfully submissive.”

They rolled over so that Stiles was atop Derek and both of their pants were being furiously torn off. Stiles was already rock hard and began lathering himself up as Derek grabbed the headboard.

“You know that an ‘alpha’ is not the only thing that I am.” He said.

“I know that now, and I love your submissive side.” Stiles said as he positioned himself between his legs and kissed him softly.

“I’m pretty fond of your dominant side.” He said and Stiles let out a small chuckle.

“Oh come on Derek, you can do better than that.” He said as he slid two slicked fingers inside of him.

Derek exhaled heavily and glared up at him, trying to keep a straight face as Stiles worked at him tirelessly.

“Come on Hale…” He said, leaving a slowly fading bruise on Derek’s neck.

Derek grabbed Stiles by the neck and pulled his face close. “I love you.” He said huskily.

Stiles still felt his insides flip at those words and smiled, a little arrogantly, as he took out his fingers and lined himself up with Derek’s body, pushing himself in just a little.

Derek let out a strained groan and Stiles buried his face in his neck as he urged himself further.

“ _Fuck_ …” Stiles gasped, kissing Derek hard on the mouth.

Derek’s hands reached down and pulled Stiles’ hips forward, forcing him to bottom out, and rocked him back and forth inside him.

“ _Holy_ … _oh, god Derek_ …” He breathed. “I love you too.”

 

 

“Do you ever wish you didn’t have super strength werewolf hearing?” Scott said to Isaac after a few minutes of sitting in his room.

“When I’m here? Oh yeah, most definitely.” Isaac said with a smile.

“They really don’t think about the fact that there are other people in this house do they?”

“I think Stiles has no idea how much we can actually hear and Derek just doesn’t give a crap.” Isaac said. “Just try not to listen, it gets easier, especially when they’re in the room right next door most of the time.”

Scott laughed.

“Here, how about I distract you?” Isaac leant over and licked Scott’s lips, eliciting a sigh from him.

“Yeah I think you should.” Scott smiled as their lips met and their bodies brushed together.

“Hmm…  you know what I really want…” Isaac said, smiling down at him.

“And what’s that?” Scott breathed.

Isaac’s lips made their way down Scott’s chest, his fingers gripping tightly to the waistline of his pants. He mouthed the bulge in his jeans through the rigid fabric and Scott groaned.

Their sensitive ears picked up the sounds of footsteps racing up the stairs and the door of the bedroom adjacent to them slammed shut.

Isaac sighed and started laughing. “We really don’t want to stick around for this.”

Scott grumbled and laughed to himself. “Well maybe we should get our shit together first so they’ll take the hint and leave next time.”

Isaac shook his head as he stood up and opened the window. “No such luck. I mean it Scott, they just don’t care. Yesterday I caught them in-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… that is Derek and my best friend in there so please, _please_ , don’t finish that sentence.”

Isaac grinned and climbed halfway out of the window. “Come on then, we’ve got time before school, let’s go to your place.”

Scott just chuckled and followed him out.

 

Melissa was already at work for the day so they left the bedroom door open as they lay together, rolling from side to side and kissing furiously, laughing and wrestling in between.

Isaac pushed the hem of Scott’s shirt up, kissing him along the bottom of his ribs as he arched his back. The sounds of their breathless panting were interrupted by the metallic buzzing of Isaac phone.

“You want to get that?” Scott breathed as Isaac let his teeth graze over his skin.

“It’ll go to voicemail.” He replied, not even looking up.

Eventually it stopped and Scott reached down to unbuckle Isaac’s belt. Isaac got up onto his knees to let Scott unzip and palm through his boxers while he threw his head back with a smirk.

Then his phone made the sound of a message tone, and then another. Scott lay back and sighed.

“Go on; see what the big emergency is.” He said and Isaac rolled his eyes. “If that’s Stiles though tell him to fuck off.” He smiled.

Isaac grinned as he looked down at the little message icon with the number two next to it. As he swiped it he wasn’t expecting it to be from who it was.

“It’s from Cassie.” He said.

“Oh?” Scott asked, his interest peaking.

“She wants to have dinner on Friday night.”

“Oh.”

Isaac looked up at him and tilted his head. “I don’t have to go, you don’t seem too happy about it.”

“No, no I want you to go, she’s your friend.” Scott said.

“But?”

“No but, it’s just…”

“That’s basically like saying but.” Isaac smiled.

“It’s just that dinner seems almost… like a date.” He said, a little embarrassed that he was even having this conversation.

Isaac moved closer to him, pulling him closer and kissing his neck. “Hey, hey! Stop it!” He protested.

“I’ll ask if she can do lunch instead.” Isaac said, holding him around the waist and placing another kiss on his cheek. “And then you and me can spend the whole night together.”

Scott smiled, pretending that the thought wasn’t as wonderful as it actually was. “Doing what?” He said with a cheeky grin.

“Well, I actually have a few ideas for that.” Isaac said softly, his lips in Scott’s ear as his tongue snaking out to caress his ear lobe.

“ _Mm_ ,” Scott groaned. “We’re going to be late for school.”

“Well then I’ll stop this and we can get straight to it.” Isaac said.

“How romantic.” Scott laughed.

“Well, you want to be on time or do you want to do this right?” He teased.

“You know I promised my mom I would at least _try_ to get good grades this year.” Scott said.

“Yeah well, you can’t do too well or she’ll get suspicious.” Isaac said with a grin and Scott punched him in the arm.

“Shut _up_.”


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

It was Friday morning and the school bell was due to ring in the next few minutes. Boyd walked briskly down the corridors until he saw that familiar small figure with the blonde braid and summer dress walking slowly to one side.

He sped up to meet her and matched her pace so that he could walk alongside her.

“Aren’t you worried that you might be seen?” She asked softly.

Boyd shrugged. “Not so much.” He said and Daisy’s lips twitched into a pinched smile. “Besides, I think Erica’s been able to smell you on me.”

“She’s the blonde, isn’t she?” Boyd nodded. “So what class do you have first?”

“Study hall.”

Daisy looked up with those big grey-blue eyes. “Me too.” She said, holding out her hand to him.

Boyd smiled and slipped his fingers into her petite grip, letting her drag him off and out onto the school grounds for the morning, the two of them finally setting up camp in the forest line by the lacrosse pitch.

“So, why do you always wear dresses like that? It’s not exactly the weather for it.” Boyd asked as they sat back on their elbows and watched the gym class being cruelly punished by the coach for one thing or another.

She looked over to him with a smile. “I never used to get the chance, so now I wear them because I can.” She said. “Besides, I don’t feel the cold as much anymore.”

Boyd nodded. “It’s nice isn’t it?”

“You know all the mythology says that werewolves are monsters, these evil creatures that take over the body of a man – or woman – during the full moon and turn them into a killing machine… None of them ever say anything about feeling so free.” She said.

Boyd watched her expression shift and change as her mind travelled past many different points in her history in just a few moments.

“It’s kind of like waking up to a new world, huh?” He said.

She turned to look at him with a smile that said that he was the first person she had met who felt the same way. “The others were born the way they are, they don’t know what it means to be human. They don’t understand how different it is.”

“I get that.” Boyd said softly.

Their eyes shared a connection for a moment before Daisy shuffled closer, her fingers touching the edges of Boyd’s hand as she leant in to him. Their eyes didn’t part until their faces were just a hair’s breadth away from one another, and then they were closed as Daisy pressed her soft lips against Boyd’s for just a fleeting moment.

“Daisy…” Boyd whispered in a breath that may not have been heard by human ears.

“Yes?” She replied.

“Can I trust you?” He asked, neither one of them opening their eyes.

“Why would you ask me that?” She said softly, no accusations in her tone, just a questioning curiosity.

Boyd lifted his hand to stroke the side of her face. “Because I want to trust you.”

“You can trust me.” She breathed against his lips.

“I hope so.” He whispered, pressing their lips together one more time.

While he did hope he could trust Daisy he knew he couldn’t tell her of his pack’s plans, despite how much he was beginning to care for her. With too many things to think about he just let himself switch off, enjoying one instant to revel in the freedom of the moment.

 

“So why are you leaving us?” Erica said as she sat down next to Stiles for lunch.

“I’m not – wait, what are you talking about? Are you crazy?” He said, looking at her like she’d just shaved her head.

“Derek’s worried you’re going to move away and leave us when you go to college.” She said, picking at the fries on her lunch tray.

“He said that?” Stiles asked with his eyebrows raised.

She shook her head. “No, but every time someone mentioned college last night I could practically hear his teeth grinding. Are you moving or something?”

“Oh my god, my dad gave me some college books to look through – which I haven’t even done seriously yet – and you guys already assume I’ve lined up a spot for some place a thousand miles away.” He grumbled.

He hadn’t even thought about it yet and it seemed like everyone was on his back about it.

“Alright, geez. I just thought I’d ask. Everyone’s a little sketchy about life after high school.” She said with a roll of her eyes and Stiles could tell that she wasn’t just asking for Derek’s sake.

“Not me.” Lydia said as she sat down with her home packed lunch.

“Oh yeah and where are you going princess?” Erica asked.

Lydia gave her a self-important smile. “Harvard.” She said with a flutter of her eyelashes.

Erica scoffed. “Right, I forgot you were some kind of genius.”

“The best kind.” She said.

“Which is?”

“Beauty _and_ brains.” Stiles said.

Lydia smiled and Erica rolled her eyes again, going back to picking at her food. “Thank you Stiles.” She said sweetly.

Stiles gave Erica a nudge but she just kicked him in the foot. He chuckled to himself and saw a small smile on her face as she pretended to be angry with him.

Boyd walked over to sit next to them, taking a bite out of his sandwich without a word. Erica looked up and sniffed loudly.

“You smell like a dog.” She said and Boyd looked up. “A bitch to be exact, I see you already started your Daisy-duty.”

“Daisy-duty? _Really_?” Stiles said.

Erica just grinned.

“She’s not _that_ bad.” Boyd said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Not that bad? You know we’re not trying to _like_ these people, we’re trying to find out why they’re here.” Erica said.

“I know.” Boyd said with a nod.

“You got your date set Lydia?” Stiles asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve had double dates before, obviously, but this time it’s me and three _guys_. I don’t even have someone to interrogate in the bathroom between courses.” She huffed.

“I’m sure it won't be too torturous for you.” He said.

“We’ll see.”

“I can tag along, so long as Jackson’s paying.” Erica grinned.

“Not going to happen Blondie.” Jackson said as he slipped in next to Lydia. “Unless of course you want to be an actual add on to our date.” He smirked

“If you say one more word you’ll lose that which you hold most precious. And no, I don’t mean me.” Lydia said.

“Didn’t think you did.” He said, the smirk growing even larger.

“Great, eating lunch over discussions about the inside of Jackson’s jeans. That is like, the last thing I want to think about.” Stiles said.

“Not what I heard.” Scott said as he and Isaac came over to join the rest of the group.

“Very funny Scott.” Stiles said sarcastically.

“Wasn’t it last night that you and Isaac were talking about the size of his – well, you know.” Scott said, totally ratting them out.

Isaac and Stiles looked up at one another and then to everyone else’s bemused faces. Isaac rolled his eyes. “We were wondering why Lydia puts up with him.” He said.

“Well I can tell you right now, that is _not_ why.” She said and then they were back to laughing at Jackson.

“Are we done with that now?” He said.

“Oh yeah, didn’t take long for that novelty to wear off.” Stiles said.

“Don’t – ” Jackson said, putting a finger to Lydia’s lips so she couldn’t continue. “I’m sure there’s something – anything – else that we can talk about.” He said, clearly having had enough.

“We all know you want to talk about the other pack.” Erica whispered. “Talk to Boyd, he’s actually going through with his side of the plan already.”

All eyes turned to Boyd who would be happy if he could just finish his lunch in peace. “What? We’ve talked once, you think I’m going to know exactly what they plans are from that?” He said quietly.

“Did she seem suspicious?” Isaac asked.

“No, she was just being friendly.” He said and most of them shrugged, turning back to their plates.

Erica eyed him cautiously for a moment but said nothing, keeping her thoughts to herself for once. Instead she changed the subject.

“So, late night party at Derek’s tonight?” She said.

“We have a date.” Jackson said with his mouth full.

“Not all night,” Erica said with a roll of her eyes.

“So do we.” Scott said, kissing Isaac’s cheek and making them flush with scarlet.

“I have homework.” Boyd said.

“Oh my god you’re all as boring as each other.” Erica scoffed.

“Tomorrow night then, how about that?” Stiles offered, amused at how much she seemed to need nights with the pack.

“Not optional.” Erica said.

Most of them groaned but would turn up anyway, there was something about being together as a pack that brought them comfort, even the human members of the group.

Just as they were all agreeing to it Allison made quick strides over to them and wedged herself in beside Lydia. “Have I missed anything?” She asked, a little out of breath.

“Just jokes about Jackson’s package… so no, not really.” Erica said with a smirk and Jackson narrowed his eyes at her.

Allison just gave them a ‘didn’t need to know’ look and shook her head.

“Are you okay? You seem a little flustered.” Scott said.

“Yeah, no I’m fine.” She said.

“Are you sure?” Jackson asked.

“Allison?” Lydia said with her brows high.

“Oh I just ran into… Aiden.” She said. “He’s probably not the best one to try and get close to.”

“What? What did he say?” Stiles said. “You talked to him?”

“Not intentionally.” She hissed. “I was putting my books away in my locker when he showed up out of nowhere and started asking me why we were so interested in them. Something about a double date and Boyd…” She said, looking up at them. “He was suspicious.”

“So what did you tell him?” Scott asked.

She shrugged a little. “I told him that no one’s really bothered with him so he had nothing to worry about. I said that Jackson wanted to suss out his brother because he was dating his best friend and I might have asked if we should be suspicious.” She said, frowning slightly. “Well I didn’t want to completely lie to him!” She added.

“No that was good, better than anything I could have come up with on the spot.” Scott said.

“Yeah but she basically told him the _entire plan_.” Jackson hissed.

“I _said_ that you were protective of Danny with _all_ of his boyfriends and that him being a … _werewolf_ , made him want to keep an even closer eye on Ethan. I didn’t tell him the whole truth.” She hissed right back.

“Jackson she couldn’t lie, he’d know.” Isaac said.

“Would you stop?” Lydia said softly, stroking the little round bone on Jackson’s wrist.

“Why is nothing ever simple?” He said.

“If it was, we’d get bored.” Erica shrugged.

“You don’t want to be the Kanima again do you?” Stiles said with a smile and the rest of them just gave him a ‘don’t go there’ look.

“Let’s just try to be normal please?” Lydia said.

Stiles scoffed. “You can talk.” He said.

“Excuse me, I’m probably the only normal one here.” She said.

“Yeah… I don’t think so.” Stiles said.

“I’m pretty normal.” Scott offered.

Stiles made a buzzer sound. “ _Ugh_! You have Daddy issues.”

“Well what about Isaac?” He asked.

“Please, _you_ have Daddy issues, don’t even get us started on him.” Erica said.

“Erica.” Stiles hissed.

“What? He does.”

“It’s true, I kind of do.” Isaac said with a nod.

“Well can we all just _pretend_ to be normal? For one day at least?” Lydia said with a strain in her voice.

“Well, we can try.” Stiles said, a grin from ear to ear.

 

 

Isaac had the last period off from school, one of his frees. He and Cassie had arranged to meet up at one of the coffee places in the centre of town and he stood outside, leaning against the wall as he checked his watch.

She was only five minutes late but still, he’s gotten there early so it felt worse than it was. It was another few minutes later when he heard a click-clacking of heels on the pavement and turned around to see Cassie walking towards him with a big beaming smile on her face. She took a few quick-steps towards him, her lustrous dark brown hair bouncing before she leant in to give him a good squeeze.

“It’s so good to see you!” She said in his ear as she finished hugging him.

“You too, it seriously doesn’t feel like nearly three years.” Isaac said.

“God, three years.” She said, her mind ticking over all the time that had passed. “Well we’ll have a lot to talk about then don’t we?” She said with a smile.

“I guess so.” Isaac said as he followed her through the door and into one of the tables in the back by the window.

“It’s on me by the way.” She said, her smile warm, she looked genuinely happy.

“Oh you don’t have to.” Isaac said, looking at the menu habitually even though he knew what he would be getting.

“I insist and if you don’t let me I’m going to have to make a scene.” She said, her lips pursed in a small smile.

Isaac laughed and looked down. “As I remember you were always good at that.”

“You used to say I should have been an actress.”

“I think you made a better choice though. How is your course going?”

“Hold that thought.” She said as she pushed her chair back and picked up her menu. “What are you eating?”

“Just a coffee.” He shrugged.

Cassie sighed. “You know you’ve got to let _yourself_ take for once, stop letting other people take _from_ you.” She tilted her head. “I’m buying so pick something or I’ll come back here with a whole freaking buffet.”

“Just coffee, and I don’t know, a muffin I guess.” He shrugged, smiling at how well she knew him.

“Buffet it is.” She said, shaking her head with a smile as she walked towards the counter.

Isaac sat back, staring out the window into the street.

He let out a yawn and sighed, for some reason he was especially tired today. Maybe it was all the worry about the other pack with nothing to substantiate it. He was never tired when there was something seriously going on, at least not until after, but now it was just a waiting game and that made him sleepy.

Cassie came back and sat down opposite him with a receipt in her hand which she crunched up and shoved in her pocket.

“So…” She said, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. “Where were we?”

“I asked about your course, you’re still doing criminology right?” Isaac asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, yeah at the University of Denver.”

“So how’s that going?”

“It’s amazing, I mean really, it’s amazing. The course is fantastic and there is so much that I didn’t even know existed in the field, so many different things. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I finally get my degree but I’ll figure that out when I get there.” She said. “That’s actually the reason I’m here, I’m doing a semester of research.”

The waiter came over with two tall cups of coffee and two plates, one with a muffin and another with a piece of apple pie.

“Thank you.” Cassie said sweetly before he gave her a little smile and walked away. “So what’ll it be, pie or muffin?” She asked with an eyebrow raised

“You choose.” Isaac said with a shrug.

“Oh my god you haven’t changed a bit have you?” Cassie laughed. “I’m taking the pie then.” She shook her head.

“So why did you come back to Beacon Hills of all places? I mean it’s a pretty small town really.” Isaac asked, taking a sip of coffee and pulling the muffin towards him.

“It’s a small town but a lot of stuff happens here. I mean I don’t know what things have been like recently but as I remember there was always something going on. You know, animal attacks and missing people and since I was doing some work on demographics I thought why not profile this place based on locality and population and trends and – I’m going on and on aren’t I?” She asked, looking slightly guilty.

“A little bit but I like it.” He said.

“Yeah well I also have a bit of a soft spot for this place. I mean I haven’t been back here since I left, I don’t even talk to my old foster family.” She said, looking down at her coffee for a moment. “They never called, I never called. It just… well I guess it was kind of like us.”

“You seemed like you really wanted to leave.” Isaac said.

“I did, I just wanted to get away from everything – and everyone – and prove that I was worth something.”

“Cass, you were valedictorian. I think everyone knew that they underestimated you.” He chuckled.

She rolled her eyes with a smile. “I was _dual_ valedictorian and even then they all went weird because I didn’t go somewhere Ivy League.” She shook her head. “It’s alright, I’m on my way to showing them all up, just give it seventeen years and they’ll be wishing they were me at our twentieth reunion.” She said with a cocked eyebrow as she took a long swig of her coffee.

Isaac laughed. “I bet they will.”

“So anyway, I’ve said way, way too much about myself. How are you? How’s things with your dad?” She asked.

Isaac’s face dropped a little, he hadn’t even thought about him, or how Cassie didn’t know what had happened. Not that he would tell her exactly what happened to him, she didn’t need to know anything about that side of his life.

“I uh… well he’s sort of… dead.” He said awkwardly and Cassie almost spat her mouthful of pie right onto him.

Instead she covered her mouth while she swallowed, her eyebrows all the while relocating to her hairline. “Oh my god, Isaac I had no idea, I am so sorry.” She said quickly.

“It’s fine, it actually happened a while ago so I’m… I’m moving past it.”

“What happened?”

“He… he was killed.” Isaac said.

“Oh god, Isaac I…” She sighed, not really knowing what to say.

She reached out and put her hand over his wrist, squeezing it gently.

“It’s fine, really. He was… well, I can't say he didn’t deserve it.”

“Isaac… you know you don’t really feel that. He was your dad _once_ , even if that guy hasn’t existed for years. You told me about him and even when I left you still cared. Come on, you know it’s true. You care far too much for your own good. It’s why you get hurt so easily.” She said.

“So I’ve been told. Seriously, don’t worry about it.” He said.

“Okay, I can see that you’re done talking about him. Even though I want to ask you so many questions because that’s what I’ve been doing the last three years for my course – I’ll refrain.” She said with a smile.

“Thanks Cassie.”

“You know I’ve been doing an awful lot of talking and you’ve barely said a word. Plus you practically inhaled that muffin. I think I need to shut up for a while and let you talk. I can give you some prompts if you like, I have lots of questions.” She grinned.

Isaac shook his head. “In case you’ve forgotten I don’t mind listening.”

“Yeah you always were a quiet one. You know what they say about the quiet ones.”

“And all of it’s true.” He grinned and Cassie laughed as she shook her head.

“So come on, tell me. What have you been doing? What are you going to do next year? What exactly happened to your dad-”

“ _Cassie_.”

“Okay, okay, well start talking or I’m going to turn this into a damn fine interrogation.” She said, sitting back and waiting for him to start speaking.

“Fine.” Isaac said, trying to think of where the hell to start.

 _Well, my dad’s been a dick this whole time and I never had any friends on account of people thinking that I was weird, not until this super creepy guy came and offered me a way out which turned out to be becoming a werewolf and gaining a pack. Oh yeah, then some weird lizard creature killed my father and a whole bunch of other people until we realised it was actually one of the guys in my year who was being controlled by_ –

“Isaac?” She asked, staring at him expectantly. “You still with me?”

“What? Oh yeah, sorry I was just trying to figure out where to start.” He said, his cheeks flushing a little.

“Well I hope that means I’m on for a good story.” She smiled.

“I guess um, it’s been pretty normal for me. Apart from the whole thing with my dad school has actually been – better. I’ve got alright grades and I made it onto the lacrosse team this year, first line.” He said.

“Oh wow, you’ve been trying to make it since like eighth grade. What changed there?” She asked cheekily.

He shrugged. “I’ve been bulking up, you know, working on that arm strength.”

“Oh yeah? Which arm – or are you ambidextrous?” She said with a smile.

“I bet you think you’re real funny huh?”

She chuckled. “Go on then, tell me the rest.”

“Well lacrosse is good, gives me something to do you know, apart from study… which I hate. A couple of my friends are on the team too which makes it better and yes – I have friends now, don’t get all excited.” She made an overly exuberant happy face and he kicked her lightly under the table. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do next year though. I’m still trying to get a half decent GPA.”

“Well I’m sure whatever you decide it’ll be amazing.” She said.

“I hope so. Anyway you said you were here for research? What kind of stuff are you looking for?” He asked, always liking it better when he didn’t have to talk about himself.

She sighed a little. “Well I’ve just been looking through all the old archives – police archives – you know, at the big library in town, and they’re great, I mean they have some really good stuff in them. The only problem is that half of them have details but no dates or a listing but no details and it’s super hard to collate data when you only have part of the information.” She said, the frustration evident in her voice. “I guess I’m just going to have to do some field work on this one, which is fun, don’t get me wrong I like it. It’s just that sometimes people are less than helpful and I almost never-”

“By field work do you mean going down to the police station?” Isaac asked, cutting her off.

She nodded. “Probably yeah, I mean I’ll have to see if anyone can help me out but yeah that is step number two.”

“Well… one of my friends is the sheriff’s son, I could ask him to talk to his dad for you.” Isaac offered.

“Oh my god, really? You’d do that?” She asked, her interest peaking.

“Yeah sure, I think he’d be happy to talk to you about old cases and stuff, you know, if there aren’t any animal attacks.” He smiled.

Cassie laughed, a big grin stuck on her face. “You are one amazing guy Isaac Lahey.” She said, her eyes never leaving Isaac’s.

It was at that point that he realised that her hand was still resting on his wrist and he broke their eye contact to look down at it for a moment before looking back up at her.

“I have really missed you Isaac.” She said.

“I’ve missed you too. I mean I never forgot you anyway.” He said, putting his hand over hers comfortingly and making her smile.

“You remember that deal we made once?” She asked softly and Isaac nodded his head, looking down with red cheeks and shaking his head a little.

“Yes, I remember.” He said.

“Well… I’m guessing that it’s too late now, on both our parts…” She said and Isaac felt his chest pounding, unsure of what she was going to say next. “… I just want you to know… it’s still on the table.”

He swallowed hard and looked up at her, not even sure what to say in response. “I… what?” He said.

“I’m saying that I forgot how much you meant to me Isaac and if you wanted me… you could have me.” She said.

With that Isaac was rendered speechless, completely lost for words.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Isaac just sat there, still as he ever was and staring at her. She waited for him to say something, anything in response.

“Cassie I…”

“I know, I know. I know I sound completely crazy and that we haven’t even said two words to one another in years but you and I both know that we only had each other back then. I know I should have said it before but for some ridiculous reason I thought…” She sighed, looking down and composing herself. “I was so concerned with myself all those years ago that I didn’t realise everything that I felt.”

“Cassie I can't…”

“No, I know what you’re going to say. I do, I’m just telling you that I care about you and I know you Isaac, and if you ever wanted me, in any way, I’ll be here.” She said, pulling her hand away and sitting back in her chair.

“Cassie I have a – I’m in a relationship.” Isaac said.

“So am I, that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t give it up for you.” She said.

“I’m in love Cassie.” He said softly.

She sighed. “Yeah well I guess I wouldn’t know what that feels like… I’m not forcing you to say something you don’t want to, I’m just telling you that the offer is there.”

“I really didn’t expect you to…” He exhaled heavily.

“Yeah, I didn’t really think I was going to.” She said, putting a hand to her face and tried to hide her embarrassment. “God, I’m sorry. Beacon Hills… this place just… I guess things have been coming back to me ever since I arrived and you know me… and my mouth.”

“Cassie, don’t be embarrassed. You know that I used to care about you like that too… but you were gone and I had to keep on living. So I did and I found someone that I care about just as much.” Isaac said.

She looked up and shook her head. “No, you care about them more.” She gave him a smile and sighed. “I can tell.”

Isaac thought about Scott, about how he was probably just as jealous as he had been over Allison and smiled.

“Look this doesn’t change anything. I had to throw it out there.” She nodded.

“I know.” He said.

“If you’re happy, if you promise me you’re happy then I’ll leave it at that. I never said anything.” She said.

“Cass I don’t want to lose you as a friend, and I’m telling you, honestly, I’m happy.” Isaac said.

“Good, that’s all I want.” She said, “Well, that and for us to forget this moment happened. If that’s possible.”

Isaac looked at her and saw the vulnerable girl that he remembered leaving all that time ago, the one that he needed and the one that needed him. A long time ago he had wanted to be with her, he looked up to her. She was the one and only person who stuck by him through everything that happened, even when the rest of his peers just thought of him as that weird kid, that quiet kid.

She had been his only friend through everything and it wasn’t anyone’s fault that their timing just didn’t line up. She had to leave Beacon Hills for herself and he was still stuck there. He could have called but so could she.

Now that their timing was finally lining up he wasn’t just going to ignore it and drift apart again. She was still a friend and he wasn’t about to forget about all that she did for him.

“Forget _what_ happened?” He said with a warm smile and she shook her head with pursed lips.

“Oh never mind, just this thing. It’s in the past now.” They both chuckled to escape an awkward silence and Cassie tilted her head. “So… tell me all about this love of yours.”

“About that…”

“Oh come on, what are you afraid of? You know I’m going to want to meet the person who melted your heart.” She said.

“His name’s Scott.” Isaac said, waiting for her reaction.

She just stared at him for a moment, her face unchanged and nodding slightly. Then she let out a small sigh and smiled. “It doesn’t surprise me. You were never one of those people to look at something from just one angle. I bet this Scott guy is _stupidly_ perfect and ridiculously into you.” She said with a little bit of envy in her tone but she tried her hardest to hide it.

“Pretty much, yeah.” He nodded.

“Well you’re going to have to see if he wants to stay after I’ve had at him. I’ve got to make sure he really is good enough for you.”

“Cassie.” Isaac shook his head.

“What? Didn’t I always tell you that no girl was ever going to be good enough for you?”

“Scott’s not a girl though.” Isaac said, pointing it out with a swing of his finger.

“Damn it Lahey, you found a loophole.” She said shaking her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

Isaac laughed. “I’ve missed this.”

“Yeah me too.” Cassie said. “Now tell me about Scott.” She said, leaning in to get the full scoop.

 _Where do I begin?_ He thought to himself.

 

After busting through the awkwardness and changing the subject to anything other than love and relationships the two of them seemed to sail through the time and before they knew it, it was four o’clock.

“I guess we better head off.” Cassie said, standing up and leaving a tip on the table.

“Thanks for the coffee, you’re going to have to let me get it next time.” He said, standing up to follow her out.

“Most definitely.” She said with a smile.

“I’ll talk to my friend about getting you a meet with the sheriff.” He said.

“That would be, _amazing_.” She said, taking the door and holding it open for him.

“It’s no trouble.” He said as they walked down the pavement.

“Cass! Wait up!” They heard, turning around to see a young man run across the street to meet them. “Car’s this way.” He said, pointing in the opposite direction and slipping an arm around her waist.

“Right, sure. Isaac, this is Cal, Cal, this is my friend Isaac.” She said, giving him a straight-lipped smile.

Cal was quite a tall guy, he had big broad shoulders and short brown hair that stuck up straight and shined with some kind of gel. His eyes were a greenish shade of brown that seemed to soak in all the sunlight and refract it back.

“So you’re this Isaac that Cass is always talking about. Nice to meet you.” He said, extending a hand for Isaac to shake.

“Yeah you too, it’s Cal right?” Isaac said, taking his firm grip and returning it with one equally as tight.

“It’s short for Calvert but he doesn’t much like that.” Cassie said.

“And yet she insists on telling everyone we meet.” He said with a fake smile. “I guess I’ll catch you around.” He said.

“Yeah sure.” Isaac said.

“I’ll text you later.” Cassie said with a small wave as the two turned to head back to the car and Isaac watched them for a moment before heading to the bus stop.

 

 

“Honestly I am _so_ not looking forward to tonight.” Lydia complained to Allison as she searched through her closet for something to wear.

“Oh come on, you’ll be fine.” Allison said, trying hard not to smile at Lydia’s misguided protests.

“Are you kidding? These guys aren’t like normal gays, they play lacrosse and talk about sports and I have to sit through a whole night of it.”

Allison laughed. “And what do ‘normal gays’ act like?”

“Well… I don’t know, different, easier to talk to.”

“You mean happy to listen to you bitch about Jackson?”

“Well isn’t that ideal?” Lydia said.

“So go crash Derek and Stiles’ evening after this double date and Jackson can tell Derek about what he sniffs out and you can go and complain to Stiles all you want.” Allison suggested and Lydia was about to argue before tilting her head to the side and pulling her thinking face.

“You know that’s not a bad idea.” She said.

Allison just rolled her eyes and laughed.

 

Isaac finally got back to Derek’s a while later, the lift opening up to the loft floor. He had thought a lot about the things Cassie had said, about what she offered him. If only he could go back in time to tell his fifteen year-old self that things get better. If only he could go back and tell Cassie the same thing.

Her life had never been easy, he was one of the only people to know the full truth about her and what she had been through. That was probably why they had such a strong connection, being the only two people to know one another’s truths.

If there were two things he was sure of, it was that he wasn’t about to lose Cassie a second time, and that he loved Scott more than anything.

“Hey!” Scott called, walking down from the top floor with his big goofy Scott-smile on his lips.

“Hey yourself.” Isaac said.

“How was your coffee?” He asked, walking up to him and pulling him into his arms.

“It was good, and before you ask – because I can see your mind ticking over it – yes, I told her about us.” He said with a smile and Scott shook his head.

“I was totally not going to ask you that.” He said.

“Not right this second.” Isaac said.

Scott leant up for an overdue kiss and Isaac pulled him in even tighter. “So about tonight…” He mumbled against Scott’s lips.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“You want to just do dinner and a movie or something, you know, like a real date kind of thing?” He said.

Scott pulled his lips back. “Yeah, that sounds good. It sounds really good.”

“Yeah? Yeah, good.” Isaac said, pulling their bodies apart to walk to the door.

“We have to stop by Stiles’ place first, he owes me twenty bucks.” Scott said.

“What? You mean to say he’s not upstairs boning Derek?” Isaac said, feigning a look of shock.

Scott laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, you’d have thought so but no… actually I don’t know where Derek is. He wasn’t here when I got in.”

“That’s weird.” Isaac said, following him back into the lift so that they could head out to Stiles’ place.

“Yeah but I actually kind of like it here without him.” Scott said and Isaac just laughed.

“Come on, let’s get to Stiles’ place so we can get going.” Isaac said, lightly pinching Scott’s lower back.

“Hey!”

They headed down to Scott’s bike and started off for Stiles’ place. The sheriff’s car wasn’t in the drive-way and the door was unlocked so they just let themselves in.

“Sounds like he’s upstairs.” Scott said.

“I think Derek’s here too.”

“How can you tell?”

“His Camaro was parked across the street.” Isaac shrugged.

“Oh… fair call.” Scott said as they walked up the stairs and opened the door to Stiles room.

Derek sat on the edge of the bed with Stiles sitting between his knees, both holding game controllers and focussed intently on the screen ahead of them. Scott just laughed as he leant against the doorframe.

“Hey Scott.” Stiles said without looking up. “Just give me five – hey! Totally _not_ a legal move there.”

“The game let me do it so clearly it just caught you by surprise.” Derek said.

“Okay I don’t know how you’re doing it…” Stiles said, tilting his head all the way back so he could look up at Derek. “… but I swear you’re cheating.”

Derek just grinned and leant down to kiss him in a very spider-man-esque way.

“Okay, when the two of you are done… Stiles you owe me twenty bucks.” Scott said.

Stiles rolled his eyes and wriggled out of Derek’s grasp and over to his desk. “I was hoping you’d forget about that, I was totally going to order pizza.” He said with a smile.

“Pizza sounds good.” Isaac said and Stiles snorted.

“Always thinking with your stomach.” He said. “You hungry Derek?”

“No, but I know you’re just trying to avoid defeat.” He said, tossing his controller onto the bed.

“Yeah, yeah, I could beat you if I wanted to.”

“Okay, so… we’re leaving.” Isaac said, walking out of the bedroom.

“Where are you two going?” Stiles asked, collapsing down into his desk chair as Derek followed Isaac out, probably down to the kitchen for one thing or another.

Scott shrugged. “Just to the movies and then out for food.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t act like you aren’t totally psyched about that.” Stiles said, folding his arms and shaking his head.

Scott gave a few flicks of his eyebrows and Stiles threw his book at him.

“Scott! Are you coming or what?” Isaac called from downstairs, from the sounds of it he was outside the window.

“He will be later!” Stiles yelled with a smirk and Scott just groaned.

“Why do you have to do that?” He said.

“So that you’ll get out and let me get back to whooping Derek’s ass.”

“I think you mean getting your own ass whooped, as you put it.” Derek said, sitting back on the bed and taking a bite out of the apple in his hand.

“Yeah, I’m going to go. You know, date night and all.” Scott said, leaving them with a smile as he left the room to head downstairs.

Isaac leant against Stiles’ jeep as he waited for Scott. He sighed loudly as he stared up at the sky. Breathing in and out that familiar scent hit him again, the one he had smelt outside the rave, the one he swears he knows from somewhere.

He honed his senses in on it, tracing it across the road and past the next house to the boundaries of the woods and felt compelled to it. He didn’t even realise that he had been walking slowly towards it until Scott called out to him, breaking his concentration.

“Isaac? Is everything okay?” He asked, looking slightly worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine; it’s just this thing that I keep smelling. I don’t know what it is, can't figure it out.” He said with a furrow in his brow.

“Well… what is it?” Scott asked.

Isaac sighed, frustrated. “I don’t know, but it smells familiar.”

Scott paused for a moment to focus on the things he could smell. Nothing strange, nothing odd, nothing weird that he remembered smelling before. “Sorry, I can't smell anything.” He said with a shrug.

“Don’t worry about it.” Isaac said, walking back to the bike. “Let’s just get to that movie.” He smiled.

 

“Why can't we go out tonight?” Stiles asked as he and Derek finished up with their video game.

“You were the one who wanted to play, so we’re playing.” Derek said.

“Yeah I know, that doesn’t mean we can't go out too. Everyone seems to be going out tonight. Friday night is date night.”

“Do we have to go out?” Derek asked.

“No but-”

“Then can we stay in, order that pizza you were talking about… just crawl into bed…” Derek said, leaning over to rub Stiles’ thigh firmly.

“Or… we can go _out_ for pizza and do all the clothes-ripping and bed-creaking when we get back.” He grinned and Derek shook his head. “Oh come on Derek, why do you hate out so much?”

“I would just much rather stay in.” He replied.

“Well that was a crappy answer so let’s settle with going out and getting a pizza to eat in the front yard on some ridiculously clichéd picnic blanket. What do you think?” Stiles said, offering to meet Derek half-way.

He just let out a loud grunting sigh and Stiles grinned, jumping up to race out to the Camaro. Derek followed slowly, shaking his head with a little smile that he tried desperately to hide.

 

“Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Ethan asked as Danny straightened up his collar as they sat in the car outside the restaurant.

Danny smiled, thinking Ethan’s exasperated little smile was because he was nervous. “Because… They’re my friends, Jackson especially. He’s been pretty distant and judgemental as of late so take this as a big step forward.”

“Yeah but why now? And why does it have to be a double date?”

“Anyone would think you weren’t interested.” Danny said, looking up from under his eyelashes and Ethan sighed.

“It’s not that… it’s just that…” He pursed his lips like he didn’t want to finish his sentence.

“It’s just what?” Danny asked and Ethan just looked away. “Hey…” Danny said, lifting his hand to grace the side of Ethan’s face before pulling his lips into his own for a slow wet kiss. “It’s what?” He repeated softly.

“It’s just that Jackson is a bit of a douche.” He said with a smile and Danny laughed.

“Yeah but he’s my best friend so you’re kind of obliged to deal with his douche-baggery.” He said. “And hey, I picked you up tonight despite the scary woman’s interrogation.” He poked Ethan’s chest.

He laughed. “You mean Katherine? Oh come on, if you want to see an interrogation she can show you one, seriously, that wasn’t even bad.”

“Yeah well remind me not to do anything wrong by you, I wouldn’t want her coming after me.” Danny said, leaning back in for another open-mouthed kiss that had him wondering if they could maybe skip straight to dessert.

“So I’ll remind you then.” Ethan mumbled against his lips.

“Come on, we better get in there, I’m even more scared of what _Lydia_ will do to us if we’re late.”

“Yeah, what is her deal?” Ethan asked.

“She’s just absolute perfection and she knows it. Seriously, the girl is smarter than most people in California and she’s gorgeous. Basically she hit the genetic jackpot.” Danny shrugged.

“Maybe you should give me a little more of a background on those two before you throw me in there.” Ethan said, fishing for more information.

Danny just laughed as he opened his door to get out of the car. “Oh come on, you’re acting like I’m throwing you to the wolves.”

Ethan chuckled slightly. “You pretty much are.” He said in a double entendre that swept right over Danny’s head.

 

“Tell me again where we’re going?” Boyd said as he and Daisy pushed past branches and navigated their way through the darkening woods.

“For a walk. Haven’t I told you that about five times?” She said, turning back to flash him a dimpled smile before taking a few delicate quick-steps forward.

“Yes, but that doesn’t actually answer my question.” Boyd said, a smile flushing the corners of his mouth as he used his sensitive vision to direct himself through the trees.

“Well maybe you had better catch me!” Daisy called from further up ahead than he had thought.

He raced forward, following the sound of her giddy laughter until he was standing by her side in front of a lake he didn’t even know existed. He stared out over the glassy surface, the fading sunlight being replaced by the grey light of the moon and Daisy looked up at him with her big blue eyes beaming.

“It’s nice, don’t you think?” She said.

Boyd looked down at her, so much smaller than him in stature and smiled. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

She looked up and rolled her eyes at him before turning back to the water. The shimmering light on the water reflecting on her pale skin and Boyd raised an eyebrow as she kicked off her sketchers.

“You want to go for a swim?” She said.

“Now? In there?” Boyd asked, giving her a little chuckle.

“Why not? Unless you’re afraid.” She winked.

Taking a step into the cool water with her bare feet she gave him one last smile before turning around and taking three more steps to dive into the deep blue centre, fully clothed in her pastel pink sundress. The surface rippled and Boyd just shook his head as she reappeared, treading water as she smiled back at him, almost daring him to join her.

“Come on!” She called, holding her breath and ducking under.

Boyd just laughed because he had no idea why she had this effect on him. Kneeling down he pulled of his shoes, taking off his socks and tucking them inside. He looked up one more time to see Daisy smiling at him as she kicked back.

He didn’t let his eyes falter as he took one step after the other until the water was up to his stomach. Daisy swam over to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Do you feel that?” She whispered.

“Feel what?” Boyd asked.

“The freedom.” She breathed against his ear before leaning her face in close and biting her lip.

“Yeah… I feel it.” Boyd said softly.

She dropped her eyes and looked back up at him. “How about now?” She asked, pulling him back so that he lost his footing and slipped all the way under.

He kicked off the bottom and spluttered about as she giggled and he shook his head. He splashed her with his hand and she let out a squeal. She pushed off his chest with her fingers and he caught her wrist in his hand, pulling her into him.

Her arms looped around his neck while he held her firmly against his body, high enough to keep her head above the water.

“I bet you’ve never swam fully clothed in a lake before.” She said, cupping his face with her hands.

“Well not intentionally anyway.” He said.

She laughed and smiled up at him, her light make-up running only slightly and her blonde hair plastered to the sides of her face so smoothly that it may as well have been woven from silk.

“What are you looking at?” She murmured.

He saw the way her lips curved at the sides, their soft fullness pulled back into a smile. “Just you.”

“Just me is it?”

“Just you.” He said again, his lips dipping down to gently caress hers, forgetting completely where he was and just focusing on the hum of Daisy’s heartbeat as her chest pressed heavily into his.

 

Scott and Isaac found a movie that they both weren’t completely opposed to seeing, not that it mattered; they spent a lot of it making out and giggling like school girls anyway. There were only a few other people in the cinema with them so they took turns at lounging out along the seats. By the time the credits were rolling they didn’t really remember how the whole thing ended… or even how it began.

Afterwards they headed down the street to their favourite little Mexican place and took seats in the back, ordering far too much food for any normal teenage pair. It was a good thing they had werewolf appetites.

Scott had fished about asking about Isaac’s meeting with Cassie, about how it went and what they talked about, most of which Isaac obliged him with. One thing he didn’t say was that she had told him how much she still cared. He knew it would turn into a big fuss and ruin their perfectly wonderful night and besides, Scott had nothing to worry about.

When it got too late to stay they headed back to Scott’s place, managing to bypass Melissa who was asleep on the couch, and straight up to his room.

“You uh, want to go for a shower?” Scott asked with his silly lop-sided grin.

Isaac smiled. “With you? Any day… or night as it were.”

“Meet you in there.” Scott said as he threw his belt onto the floor and left for the bathroom, the nozzles in the shower turning only a moment later.

Isaac pulled off his jacket and T-shirt, tossing them down with Scott’s belt as he walked into the steamy bathroom to meet him. His hair was already dripping and stuck to his forehead, his clothes well and truly gone.

“Sometimes I forget how quickly you get yourself undressed.” Isaac teased as he stripped out of his own jeans.

Scott let his eyes drift down for a little too long and Isaac squeezed in with him, shutting the door and wrapping his arms around Scott from behind. Gently they swayed from side to side and Isaac kissed Scott’s ear with barely a touch, making him sigh.

“You know I love you… right?” Isaac breathed.

“I told you I was going to stop answering when you asked me that. Don’t I say it enough?” Scott teased.

“ _Scott_ …” Isaac mumbled.

“I know you do… and I love you too.” Scott said, caving in.

Isaac nuzzled his nose into the crook of Scott’s neck.

“Damn it Lahey! Why do you always make me crack?” He said.

Isaac chuckled.

_Damn it Lahey!_

He sighed again and held on tighter to Scott’s waist, still swaying, and knowing how impossibly lucky he was to have him.

“I love you.” He said so softly that Scott let out a low moan, so contented with the idea of it.

“If you really loved me-”

“Don’t start that game… you know I’ll do anything to prove it.” Isaac grinned.

“In that case… if you _really_ loved me…” Scott beamed.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

“It really can't have been that bad.” Erica said, lying with her legs over the back of the couch and her head hanging down with her hair dragging on the floor.

“I had nothing to say, I sat there in silence most of the time.” Lydia said, taking a sip of her vodka and orange juice.

“Yeah and we all know how much you hate that.” Isaac said with a smirk.

“At least you got to eat right?” Scott said.

“She doesn’t eat. She has like a salad and water. She won't even have a slice of the garlic bread.” Jackson said, sitting beside her with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

“You want me to eat carbs for the purpose of…?” She asked.

“Oh I don’t care, you’re a cheap meal, I just resent paying twenty-five dollars for lettuce and a few sticks of carrot.” He said.

“Please, you eat enough for the both of us, two times over. They ate a three course meal and he _still_ went for take out on the drive home.”

“Forget I asked, seriously.” Erica said, rolling her eyes as her cheeks grew even pinker from being upside down.

“Would you sit right-way up please? I feel like your head’s going to explode if you sit like that much longer.” Isaac said.

She swung back up, laying across the couch and resting her head in his lap. “You know that _really_ hurt.” She grumbled her head hurting from the quick movement. “So how was date night for the two of you?”

Scott and Isaac exchanged a glance, both remembering the end of the night in particular.

 

_“In that case if you really loved me…” Scott said and Isaac laughed, spinning him around so that their wet lips could ravish one another._

_Isaac braced his hips against Scott’s and slipped his hands down to squeeze his ass cheeks and pull him in closer. “What? Huh?” He said gruffly with a playful smile on his lips._

_“Go on then… show me what you’d do to prove it.” He said with a grin._

_This resulted in Isaac’s knees fixing on the tiled shower floor with Scott’s hands in his hair, a varied assortment of non-words and curses coming out of his mouth as Isaac took more of him in and stared up at him like he wanted to take everything he had._

_And Because Isaac loves to tease, he pulled away before Scott had the chance to release and made a bet that Scott couldn’t screw him up against the wall of the shower – a bet that he lost, and gladly._

_Maybe it was the water getting cold, maybe it was something else but it wasn’t long after that Scott was flat on his back on a towel on the bathroom floor and Isaac was knelt over him and riding him to within an inch of his life. Isaac had to gag him with the hand-towel to stop him from waking Melissa with his low rumbling guttural moans of pleasure._

_In the end they both needed another shower because Scott’s chest was soiled and Isaac was so much more than wrecked._

 

Scott shrugged. “Just a quiet night in.”

Erica scoffed loudly. “My ass it was a quiet night in. The look on Isaac’s face says I’m right.”

Isaac couldn’t get the smile off his face and Scott just laughed and shook his head. “Can you stay out of my brain please?” Isaac said.

“I never wanted to be in there in the first place.”

“Then stay out.”

“I’ll try if you stop showing it on your face.”

“Hey, I’m just-”

“Would the two of you stop bickering?” Boyd said, walking over with a plastic cup and sitting opposite them on the floor, leaning his back against the coffee table.

“We were bickering?” Erica asked.

“Yes, you were.” Boyd said, narrowing his eyes with a smile.

“Isaac would you call that bickering?”

He shrugged. “I’d call it a mild form of arguing.”

“You mean, like bickering?” Lydia asked.

“Okay, maybe we were bickering.” Erica said with a grin.

“Would all of you please _shut up_?” Derek growled from the kitchen.

“Why is he in such a bad mood?” Scott asked.

“That would be their fault.” Stiles said, pointing to Lydia and Jackson as he walked in to meet them all. “They thought it would be fun to crash _our_ night after their apparently crappy date ended.”

“That… might actually be my fault.” Allison said, looking slightly guilty. “I kind of suggested it as a joke.”

“Yeah, real funny.” Stiles said, his tone sarcastic but the look on his face was full of amusement.

“So… what’s the deal with Ethan?” Scott asked.

Erica and Lydia groaned but they were ignored.

“I still don’t trust him. He was giving me glares all night.” Jackson said.

“Do you think that could have been due to the fact that _you_ were giving _him_ glares all night?” Lydia said.

“I don’t trust him.”

“What’s new? You don’t trust anyone.” Stiles said.

“How about you Boyd?” Erica asked and Boyd looked up as if he had no idea what she meant. “What do your wolfy-senses tell you about Miss Daisy?”

He paused for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “She seems genuinely nice.”

Erica scoffed. “Yeah, well, she would.”

“What does that mean?” Boyd asked with a smile.

“It just means that of course she’s going to seem nice at first.” She retorted.

“I think she’s jealous.” Allison said, to which Erica responded with a dark scowl.

“No, I’m just on side with Jackson; I don’t trust them.”

“Finally someone who agrees with me… even if it is you.”

“You’re hilarious.” She said.

“Can we please talk about _anything_ else?” Isaac said.

“Fine, we can do this instead.” Erica said with a grin.

She suggested they play a game – a drinking game of course. The three human players made the point that it was outrageously unfair for them to be even trying to compete against a group of werewolves – a group of _cocky_ werewolves who find that they like to band together to do their showing off.

Derek had been listening from the kitchen and reluctantly offered them some of his personal supply to which Stiles questioned, wondering how this reserve had gone about unbeknownst to him. He also thought that Derek was doing a terrible job at hiding his amusement at the whole thing, offering his tampered stash in order to get a good laugh out of it. He perched himself in the chair in the corner with a book because he had no interest in playing a game that required him to divulge intimate details about himself.

“Never have I ever…” Erica started, earning a small groan from Jackson but he was as eager as any to play.

The game started out as it always did, all the really good questions didn’t come out until they were all a little more… relaxed.

“Never have I ever scored lower than an eighty-five on my math final.” Lydia said with a smirk as the rest of them rolled their eyes and took a sip if their drinks.

“You know that’s not fair, just because you’re a genius doesn’t mean you need to lord it over us whenever you get the chance.” Stiles said.

“What’s the point in being a genius otherwise?” She asked.

“What he meant is that it’s not fair because this game is _so_ not about talking about our school test scores.” Erica said.

“Okay, my turn then.” Allison said. “Never have I ever done it in a car.” She smiled.

“Are we specifying ‘it’ as the deed itself or anything leading up to ‘it’?” Lydia asked.

“Let’s go with the deed itself.” Allison said.

They all looked from one to the other as Stiles took a not-so-secret drink from his glass. Derek chuckled from the corner and that just made Scott laugh out loud.

“Shut up Derek. If you’re going to laugh then you have to play.” He said.

“Nope. Not happening.”

“Well aren’t you adventurous Stiles?” Erica teased.

“Yeah, yeah, get over it. Next question.” He said.

“Isaac your turn.” Allison said, taking a voluntary sip of her drink.

“Okay… same thing… just leading up to instead.” He said.

“That’s pathetic.” Jackson said.

“Yeah well… that’s my thing and I’m not drinking to it so maybe the rest of you should.” Isaac said.

Jackson just shrugged and took a drink along with Lydia, Scott and Allison.

“I don’t think _that_ leaves any questions.” Boyd said, chuckling to himself.

“Scott!” Erica said loudly and with a grin, Derek’s high intensity grog clearly doing its job.

They all wondered where on earth he got the stuff but they knew he wasn’t going to spill his secret.

“Okay, okay… you guys know I suck at this right?” He said, pulling a serious thinking face that made Isaac want to pull him into his arms and just kiss him, but he resisted.

“It’s not that hard McCall.” Jackson teased.

“Ooh! Okay, I’ve got one… never have I ever been caught with my pants down, alone or otherwise.” He said.

Stiles took a small sip of his glass and Isaac scoffed at him. “Okay you need to _down_ that entire thing because I have walked in on you without your pants on more occasions than I can count.” He said, before taking a drink himself.

“How do you even do that? Can’t you hear them?” Boyd asked.

“Sometimes I have headphones in and they’re just down here on the couch or something. Thanks by the way.” He said looking over at Derek. “You should drink too.”

Derek looked up and sighed before rolling his eyes and getting up to take a glass. “Bottoms up.” He said before heading into the kitchen.

“Wait a minute, didn’t I catch you two in the shower that one time?” Stiles said to Scott.

“This is all getting a little too intimate between the four of you.” Jackson said, turning up his nose.

“Shut up Jackson!” Derek called before anyone else had the chance to do it.

“Whatever, just drink up McCall.” He said with a shrug.

It was Stiles’ turn next, and he knew his attempt was pathetic so he spent to entire next rotation trying to think of something good – and something he wouldn’t have to drink to because he was already quite light headed.

Derek was sitting next to him now, his arms circled around him and his chin resting on Stiles’ shoulder. Every few minutes Stiles would snuggle in closer and Derek let him, one of the rare occasions where he didn’t completely snub Stiles’ PDA. He knew that Derek secretly loved it.

“Come on Stiles, you better have a more amusing one than last time.” Lydia said.

“Even I thought that one was lame.” Boyd said.

“Yeah, yeah… all of you shut up and let me think!” Stiles said, slurring his speech a little until he thought of a good one that would hopefully leak some interesting information. “Okay… okay I got one… never have I ever, current partners aside, seen anyone in this room naked in a sexual way.” He said.

They all sort of looked from one to another for a moment before they took their sips, all but Jackson, Lydia, Stiles and Derek.

“Well I knew the two of you but the rest of you… not so much.” Stiles said, pointing to Allison and Scott and raising his eyebrows at the others.

Scott looked sideways at Isaac, wondering how he didn’t know that about him. Then again, he never asked. “What-” He started before Erica cut him off.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m the whore of the Hale pack.” She said with a smirk.

“Please don’t call it that.” Derek said.

“Wait… you and Boyd _and_ you and Isaac? I’m hoping it wasn’t all together.” Jackson smirked.

She scoffed. “Please… and I was counting you too Allison.” She looked over with a wink and everyone looked up suspiciously.

“Okay, no. Not even. I was in a towel and you crashed my place because you were bored.” She said, shaking her head.

“I know, I just wanted to bring it up.” She said and Allison rolled her eyes. “What? It was date night last night and everyone else was taken.”

“My dad isn’t the biggest werewolf fan, but he was glad that it wasn’t a guy.” She said, finishing the last of her drink.

“Well he shouldn’t have been.” Erica winked again and Isaac stood up with a stretch.

“And with that I think I’m going to go to bed.” He said.

“What happened to the old Isaac? You know, the one who used to like staying up late?” Erica drawled.

“ _Erica_.” Derek said with warning tones, sensing the way her words had made Scott’s back bristle.

“You need a bigger place dude.” Jackson said before claiming one of the couches as his own.

“Why? So I can house more randy teenagers? I don’t think so.” Derek said, getting up and pulling Stiles along with him.

“Well I’m off too… I’m off to get _laid_.” Stiles said and the rest of them chuckled while Derek just groaned and dragged him away.

“Yeah I think I’m going to head up too.” Scott said, wobbling a bit but walking silently past the others and making Isaac brow furrow.

“Whatever, you guys go and we will continue down here.” Erica said and Jackson sat back up.

“Now that sounds like a plan.” He grinned.

Isaac laughed and turned away, hearing Scott walk up the stairs and straight to his room. He sighed; maybe he should have said something about the whole thing earlier. He would have to remind himself to kill Stiles later.

He could still hear them all laughing downstairs when he pulled the door open a little to look inside as Scott hopped about on one foot, trying to get it out of his jeans and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Shut up Isaac.” He grumbled as he kicked his jeans aside and flopped onto the bed.

“Okay… you want to tell me why you're snappy? It’s the Erica thing isn’t it.” Isaac said, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

“Why would I care about that?” He said.

Isaac sighed, leaning his back against the door. “ Because you’re a little drunk.”

“Well give it an hour and I’ll be back to normal.”

“Scott, me and Erica happened once, back when Derek had only just given us the bite. We were pumped about having the power and we just kind of… well, you know how it goes. Is that what you’re so antsy about?”

Scott scoffed. “Why would I care about that?”

To be honest, Isaac didn’t know why he would, until his mind ticked over and something clicked. “You’re right… you wouldn’t. But you might care about Cassie. Is that what this is – do you think we had something together?”

“Did you? Why didn’t you tell me about Erica?” Scott asked, sitting up and looking at him.

“Scott you’re being ridiculous. You never asked about who I’d been with before you so why would I tell you?”

“ _Did_ you have something with Cassie?”

“Oh my god, if you weren’t so crazy hot when you get jealous then I would seriously have to strangle you. Yes, something did happen with me and Cassie, once, right before she left and that was it. And something happened with me and Erica, once, do you want to know anything else? You know you can just _ask_ , right?”

“You think I’m crazy hot?” Scott said with a smile and Isaac rolled his eyes.

“You are so drunk.” He said.

“Yeah, I think I am. I think I am _so_ going to regret this tomorrow.” He grunted.

“How much of that stuff did you drink?”

“You guys kept saying you hadn’t done stuff that I had actually done so a lot.” He smiled with his big goofy smile and Isaac fell back onto the bed.

“Who knew you would be so difficult?” He said.

“Yeah… I’m … I’m sorry I was kind of a douche just now.” He grunted. “Oh man I am so going to regret this tomorrow.”

“You sure are because I’m not going to let you forget it.”

“Can you please make me forget the fact that you slept with Erica? That image is never leaving my brain.” He said as he cringed.

“Hey, I never said I _slept_ with her. I thought you knew…” Isaac said, looking up at Scott.

“Knew what?” He said.

“I haven’t slept with anyone besides you. You were my first Scott.” He sighed and Scott nodded a little, sitting mostly in silence for the better part of a minute.

“Can I be your last?” He said, still smiling and Isaac let out the breath he had been holding and laughed.

“Do you really have to ask?” He leant over to kiss his lips, letting them linger for a moment as the rumbling of Scott’s groan washed over them.

“Can I be your right now?” He purred.

“I would love you to be but I can't be taking advantage of you in this state now can I?” Isaac said.

“What if I wanted you to?”

“I think you need to get some sleep.” Isaac said, crawling up to lie by his side but Scott pressed his body against him.

“No I mean I want _you_ to.” He hummed in Scott’s ear, his lips tugging at the sensitive skin.

Isaac swallowed and tried to hide the fact that he was already half hard by pushing Scott back and letting him spoon him. “Maybe in the morning… if you can remember any of this.” He said. “And stop grinding yourself into me.”

He didn’t stop, in fact he reached forward and down over Isaac’s stomach and he knew he was going to have a hard time fending him off.

 

When Derek and Stiles made it to the bedroom Stiles stumbled across the floor and leapt down onto the bed.

“Comfortable are you?” Derek asked.

“I will be when you join me.” He said, face first in a blanket.

“You’re lucky I have good hearing or that would never have made it this far.” Derek said, the stillness of Stiles’ body amusing as he tried to speak. “Don’t suffocate yourself over there.”

Stiles rolled onto his back with a sigh. “My dad says we’re going to visit some colleges in a couple of weeks.” He said.

“Yeah?” Derek asked with his back turned as he pulled of his shirt.

“Yeah, he says Portland state is first, two weeks I think. We’ll be gone all weekend.”

“Portland huh?” Derek turned back to him and walked over to lie beside him.

“Yeah, I know it’s kind of far, not as far as Dalton though. He says we can try to make it out there one weekend. I think he just wants me to know that I have options.” He said, closing his eyes and yawning.

“Are you going to be looking at any local colleges?” He asked and Stiles looked up at him with a smile.

“Why? Would you miss me?”

“I will roll over and go to sleep. I won’t even feel bad about it.” He said.

“Yeah, yeah, and sure I’ll check out the local places but… I don’t know.” He said.

“But what Stiles?” Derek asked, putting his arm over Stiles’ stomach.

“I don’t know, just something about the idea of going somewhere new for college is exciting don’t you think?” Derek didn’t answer, he knew Stiles wasn’t really asking him anyway. “You could come with me. We could buy a little house and live happily ever after.” He chuckled to himself before yawning again and rolling over, wriggling just enough to tuck himself into Derek’s side.

Derek just sighed. “The wolf doesn’t get the happily ever after Stiles. Stiles?” He said again but Stiles was already asleep, or more accurately; passed out.

He sighed again, still holding Stiles close as he thought about how all of his worries about the future would become realities all too soon.

 

The next morning Scott and Stiles weren’t feeling too crash hot. Of course, all Scott had to do was get some food into him before he was feeling better, Stiles would be feeling the night’s after effects for the rest of the long day ahead.

The others were still being peeled off the couch and Boyd offered to drive them home.

“I hope the two of you are about to follow their lead.” Derek said to Scott and Isaac who both rolled their eyes.

“Yeah, okay, we’re going.” Scott said.

“Wait, Stiles, you want to come along to meet my friend Cassie with us this week?” Isaac asked as he grabbed his wallet from the bench.

“Uh… sure. Why?” He asked.

“I kind of said I’d ask you if your dad could talk to her about some old case files so I figure you should meet her and make your own mind up.” He shrugged.

“Oh yeah, sure. Let’s just make it a day when I don’t feel like I’m going to die.” He groaned.

“Yeah sure, I’ll let you know.” He said and Scott grabbed him in a big bear hug with a growl.

“Come on, let’s go.” He said.

“I’d love to stay but-”

“ _Go_.” Derek said loudly and Isaac smiled, his reaction exactly what he had been hoping for.

“Later Stiles.” Scott said as they left the loft and Derek let out a contented sigh.

“Man, you really hate it when they linger don’t you?” Stiles said.

“I like my space.” He said.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. If you want I can leave too.”

Derek smiled a little. “I don’t like that much space.” He said quietly.

Stiles’ heart warmed a little at that.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

“So, Scott… I’ve heard a lot about you.” Cassie said as she stirred a second sugar into her cup of coffee.

Scott looked over at Isaac who shrugged a little and hid a smile behind his glass of water. Stiles felt oddly out of place at the table.

“You have?” Scott said, fidgeting with his fingers under the table.

“Yes… and none of it good.” She winked and Isaac shook his head.

“Bet you know nothing about me.” Stiles said, trying to break his way in.

“I know you’re the sheriff’s son, and that you’re strangely secretive of your first name.” She said and Scott supressed a laugh.

“I still swear to god if you tell anyone I will kill you, stuff you, and keep you as a permanent fixture on my couch to ward off bad spirits.” He said.

“Can I come visit him still?” Isaac asked and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“Now that is just disgusting.” He shook his head and Cassie laughed.

“Okay, _ridiculously_ secretive of your first name.” She said.

“Damn straight.” He said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

“I should really interrogate you; make sure you’re good enough for Isaac.” She said, addressing Scott again.

“ _Cassie_.” Isaac groaned.

Scott just laughed a little. “If you like.”

“His mom tells him that anyone would be lucky to have him.” Stiles said with a cheesy smile.

“And what does his dad say?” Cassie asked.

Scott shrugged. “He’s not in the picture.”

“No? Why’s that?” She asked.

“Cass, that’s a little personal.” Isaac said.

“It’s okay, he’s just a bit of a douche, that’s all.” Scott said and Stiles scoffed loudly.

“A bit? He is like, the king of douchey douche bags.” He said.

“You know I think the two of you will get along well. Neither of you can keep your mouths shut.” Isaac said, giving Stiles an eye roll and they both just grinned.

“We can always play twenty questions.” Cassie offered.

“Only if we take turns.” Scott said.

“It didn’t take you long to hit my big red button Scott; I don’t play games that I don’t already know how to win, and I don’t answer questions that I don’t have time to think about.” She said.

Scott smiled. “Maybe you should have taken up law at college.”

“You’re not the first one who’s told me that.” She said, taking a long sip of her coffee.

“Stiles, Cassie’s doing criminology, I think I remember you saying something about looking into that.” Isaac said, trying to steer them in a normal conversational direction.

“Oh, yeah cool, what’s it like?” He asked, causing Cassie to lead into a spiel about her course and soon she and Stiles were locked into a conversation and zoning the other two out.

“So? What do you think?” Isaac whispered to Scott.

He shrugged. “She’s nice.” He said.

“But…” Isaac smiled.

“But nothing, I like her.” He said.

“I’ll know if you’re lying.” He said playfully.

“Well then you don’t need to ask do you?” Scott replied.

“Don’t be so difficult.” Isaac said, leaning in to kiss Scott’s cheek.

“I’m not.”

“Well stop being frustrating then.”

“I’ll try.” He shrugged and Isaac just gave him a dirty look.

They stayed out for at least another hour, Stiles had two coffees that both Isaac and Scott knew that his dad would not thank them for allowing that. He offered to drive the three of them to their respective destinations but they all decided to walk.

“Dude, I’m on my way to Derek’s anyway, are you sure?” He said to Isaac.

“I think I’ll just walk with Scott first” He said with a smile and Stiles headed off.

 Cassie waved them goodbye as she walked away in the opposite direction.

Scott and Isaac walked along hand in hand for a while, shuffling slowly because they knew they would have to go back and start their homework soon enough.

“So hey, can I ask you something?” Isaac said finally.

“Yeah of course.” Scott said.

“About what you said the other night…” Isaac started, biting his lip.

Scott just groaned as they turned the corner, only a few blocks from Scott’s place. “God no, please. I just want to forget about all of that stuff and how I made a complete ass of myself.” He grumbled.

“Oh… well you didn’t make that much of an ass of yourself.” Isaac said.

“Are you kidding? I made a big deal about nothing. I was sort of a drama queen. I shouldn’t have said any of that stuff.” He said, putting his hand to his face and shuddering at the memory of it.

“So you regret… all of it?” Isaac asked, staring straight ahead.

“Are you kidding? Do you remember the kind of crap I was saying?” Scott laughed.

“So even the part you said when you were trying to jump me before you passed out?” He said, biting his lip.

Scott thought for a second before his eyes grew wide and he cleared his throat awkwardly, his cheeks pinking up a little. “Oh… right, that.”

“Yeah…that.”

“Well I guess… yeah I mean I don’t regret saying _everything_.”

“So you… you want me to?” Isaac looked up at him from the side and Scott smiled.

“Well I’m not saying I’m not happy with how things are now, not at all.”

“I didn’t think you were.”

“No I wasn’t, I just… I guess I just want to know what it feels like for you to… have _me_.” He looked up at him and he and Isaac locked eyes.

Isaac swallowed and they kept walking for a moment. He could feel his heartbeat rising and was trying to think of something to say before clipping a signpost with his shoulder and Scott laughed a little.

“Does that make you nervous?” He asked.

“What? No… well you make me nervous, all the time. Even though we basically have nothing to hide you still make me nervous.” He smiled.

“Oh really?” Scott said, stopping in his place and shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Well, sometimes. Most of the time you’re far too adorable to make me nervous.”

“Dude, I will seriously punch you in the face.” He said as they walked up to the front of his house. “Are you coming in?” He asked.

“Uh… I have a history project due so I better get onto that, I’ll see you later tonight though?” He said.

“Yeah sure, you don’t want a ride?” Scott offered.

“I’m good with walking. It’ll help me procrastinate.”

Scott smiled and pulled Isaac into him leaning up for a long kiss that left Isaac reeling.

“Hey, don’t make me get the hose on you two.” They pulled apart as Melissa shut the door behind her and headed to her car.

“Oh come _on_ mom…” Scott grumbled, leaving Isaac with a kiss to his cheek before walking up the stairs and into the house.

“What? I don’t need to see that.” She said with a smile for Isaac.

“Later Mrs McCall.” He said.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Melissa?!” She called as she climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Probably more than you already have.”

“Well one day I’m just going to give up and you’ll have to start calling me mom.” She winked and Isaac’s cheeks flushed as she shut the door and started up the car.

As terrifying as that sounded, it actually made Isaac feel a little warmer on the inside.

He took his time getting back to Derek’s. He still didn’t really like to call it home because as grateful as he was for Derek’s hospitality – if one could even call it that – it still didn’t feel quite like it. He didn’t know when or where he would feel at home but he did know that he came close whenever he was with Scott.

He knew he should be happy, and he was, things were going great. It was just that Derek was right about it being too quiet. In his experience, Beacon Hills has been nothing close to normal and with nothing happening – he thought it was all too good to be a reality.

Still, he tried not to let his paranoid thoughts cloud his vision, instead his walk home consisted of imagining all the things he wanted to do with Scott the next time he got him alone. That last part usually proved difficult.

If it wasn’t Melissa watching a movie downstairs or trying to sleep two bedrooms over, it was the fact that Derek was across the hall and well within hearing range or worse – cooped up with Stiles.

When he made it back to the loft, Stiles was studying at the kitchen bench and Derek was somewhere out of sight.

“That took a long time, what did you do, walk the long way home or crawl here?” Stiles asked without looking up.

Isaac shrugged. “I just took my time is all.”

“Avoiding your assignments?”

“Yeah.”

Stiles smiled, knowing that neither his father nor Derek would let his grades slip.

Isaac pulled out his textbook and began reading, occasionally looking up at Stiles who was scribbling away in his notepad. After about ten minutes of silence Isaac took in a big breath.

“Hey Stiles…” He started and Stiles looked up, slamming his pen down.

“You’re going to ask me more sex questions aren’t you?” He said.

Isaac looked a little shocked. “Why would you think that?”

“You’ve been reading that same page over and over for like five minutes and you keep giving me this look like you don’t really want to bring it up. When did I become Mr Sex Advice Columnist?” He said.

“Can I ask you or not?” He said with a smile.

“Lay it on me big boy.” Isaac shook his head.

“Do you have to word it like that?”

“Are you kidding? Of course. So why are your panties all twisted out of shape?” Stiles said.

“You and Derek mix it up, right?” He asked, knowing he shouldn’t bother to skirt around the issue.

“As in… what exactly?” Stiles arched and eyebrow.

“As in, he’s not always the one who’s…” He tried to think of the right words but Stiles came out and blatantly filled in the gaps.

“Doing the screwing?” He asked, an amused smile on his face. “No he most certainly is not.” He said cockily.

“You know I’m not asking for details here.” He reminded him

“I know but when do I ever listen?”

“Good point.”

“So are you asking because you’re a dirty perv or because you and Scott are having trouble ‘mixing it up’?” He said, using his fingers to mark the words that Isaac used.

“There’s no trouble, it just hasn’t been done yet.”

“So do it, what’s the problem?”

Isaac sighed. “Me and Scott, we tend to make things… awkward. Especially new things.”

“Can I come straight out and give you some advice?” Stiles asked.

“That would be preferable, yes.” Isaac said and Stiles gave him a wry smile.

“Just forget the bullshit and fuck the crap out of my best friend already.”

Isaac snorted a laugh and put his head on his arms that were perched on the bench top.

“I’m serious, if he starts a talking just give him a reason to shut up.”

“You know you're right. I don’t know why I come to you for advice.” He said, smiling.

Stiles just shrugged. “Hey, you want my advice, that’s my advice. You want any more then I am going to have to go into a very elaborate story about my plans for Derek on valentine’s day-”

“Okay! Alright! I get the picture!” He said, covering his ears and shaking his head. “Thanks though.”

“Don’t be so paranoid and worried about everything. Life is freaking good right now so just be happy about it and go off and have crazy werewolf sex.” Stiles said, picking up his pen again.

“With your best friend?”

“ _With_ my best friend, yes. Hell, I’ll finish my chemistry set and tell Derek to meet me at my place so you can have the whole loft to yourself to get your freak on.”

“Thanks Stiles.” Isaac said.

“Before we wrap this up can _I_ ask _you_ something?” He said, looking up.

“Uh… sure?” Isaac said, not sure if he was going to want to answer this.

“What’s it like being able to have crazy, dangerous, bed-breakingly hot rough sex?” He said, as straight faced as ever.

This time it was Isaac’s turn to give him a wry smile to which Stiles rolled his eyes and went back to his chemistry work.

“Get on with your history essay you bastard.” He said.

Isaac just laughed and opened up his book again, this time doing some actual reading.

 

“Explain to me again why I’m being kicked out of my own loft?” Derek said as he walked through the door of Stiles’ house in his black denim jeans and leather jacket.

“I told Isaac he and Scott could have a night to themselves.” Stiles said and Derek just gave him a blank stare.

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“A night to _themselves_ Derek, as in-”

“Yes, alright I get it. That doesn’t mean I want them screwing on my couch.” He said, walking past Stiles into the kitchen.

“ _We_ screw on your couch, why can't they?” Stiles quipped.

“That’s exactly why I don’t want _them_ doing it.” He said.

“You’ve got extra Sourwolf going on tonight.” Stiles said.

Derek glared at him and walked over to lean on the bench. “Do you want me to stay tonight?”

“I always want you to stay.” Stiles said, moving closer to him and looping his arms around his neck. “I mean I’ve got homework but I’m sure you can find something to do until I’m done, right.”

“I think there’s a game on.” He said, staring down at the floor.

“Yeah, you can watch it with my dad when he gets home – which should be any minute.”

“Are the two of you still going to Portland next weekend?” He asked.

“I think so, he wants to drive but it’s like twelve hours there and twelve hours back. I’m all for road tripping but twelve hours straight in a car with my dad… that’ll suck.” He chuckled a little and Derek just nodded. “Aren’t you just a little bit excited for me? College next year, it’s going to be huge.”

“I know it is. I’m happy for you.”

“He says with a big frown on his Sourwolf face.” Stiles said. “Seriously Derek, come on. We’re just getting a good look at my options. I might not even like Portland.”

“You’ll like everywhere you go and you know it.” Derek grumbled.

“True, besides, you could always come with us up there for the weekend.”

“I don’t think so Stiles. This seems like something your dad wants to do with you by yourselves.”

“It’s not, he’d be happy for you to come with us.”

“Not this time Stiles.”

“Would you look at me please?” He said, taking Derek’s chin between his fingers and pulling it up to look him in the eye. “It would be better if you smiled a little. You know I like it when you smile.” He said softly.

Derek’s face softened. “I know.”

Stiles leant in to brush their lips together before his twisted into a devious smile. “So can we talk about prom then?”

Derek groaned. “I told you I am _definitely_ not going to that one.”

“Oh come on, I’ll never ask you for anything ever again.”

Derek snorted. “That’s likely.”

 

 

Isaac was glad that Stiles had so much influence over Derek; he liked having the loft to himself. Scott was coming over after he finished his assignments and Isaac felt kind of bad that he had gotten nowhere with his own. He didn’t stress about it too much though.

He was probably too relaxed even. He fell asleep while reading in bed and didn’t hear Scott arrive in the elevator and walk up the stairs to greet him. He woke to Scott’s smiling face above him and grabbed him tightly with a growl.

“Missed you.” He said.

“I’m glad, can you let me breath now?” Scott joked and Isaac let him go, sitting up and stretching out. “How long did you sleep for?”

“I don’t know, I just kind of… fell asleep.”

“I think you’re just trying to avoid this essay of yours.”

Isaac scoffed. “I’ll get it done. It just sucks is all.”

Scott smiled and leant in to kiss him with his mouth open, his tongue licking gently at the inside of his lips. Isaac let out a contented hum as he parted his mouth to let more of him in. His lips tasted sweet and his scent filled the air making Isaac’s body react before his mind, though they were both thinking the same thing.

He reached out to fondle the fabric that hung at Scott’s sides and smiled a little. “You’re straight to the point, aren’t you?” he said.

“All you have to do is say stop…” Scott breathed.

Isaac let out a loud groan that echoed through Scott. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“I don’t know but I’m begging you not to.” Scott said, his hand running back and forth up and down Isaac’s thigh.

Isaac clenched his fist in Scott’s shirt and gave it one rough tug, up and over his head. He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer.

“I won't… if you do what I say.” He growled in Scott’s ear.

“And what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to take off your clothes. All of them.” He said, his tongue sliding slowly up the side of his ear.

“What about your-”

“Scott… you’ve seen me well and truly wrecked way too many times… just shut up and let me do the same for you.” He said, shoving him back with a smirk.

Scott smiled and stepped back, getting off the bed to stand and unbuckle his jeans. Isaac’s eyes never left him, following every small movement of his fingers as they pulled down the zip and locked into the line of his jeans just below his hips before he slip them down and stepped out of them.

Isaac could feel his blood setting on fire as he stared out at the smooth plains of Scott’s body and the way his cut lines trailed down to emphasize his cock, growing harder by the second.

“Have I ever told you that you’re fucking perfect?” Isaac growled.

“All the time actually.”

“Yeah, well I mean it. Come here.” He said, now kneeling up on the bed.

Scott took the two steps forward until they were face to face and Isaac’s hands were slipping around his waist to squeeze his ass and pull their bodies together. His lips started at Scott’s neck, tracing the lines of muscle until they were cascading over his chest and his tongue was flicking over Scott’s peaked nipple, making him sigh. He kissed at it relentlessly and Scott rested his hand on the side of Isaac’s head as his cock twitched anxiously, now a solid and urgent pressing against Isaac’s hip.

“Get up here with me…” Isaac whispered.

Scott obeyed and Isaac stripped himself down to just his boxers, a very large protrusion in the front of them. Scott eyed him hungrily and wet his lips, reaching out and wrapping his hand around his boxer-clad member firmly.

Isaac’s hips gave an involuntary jerk forward and into the perfect circle of Scott’s fist. He took that as a cue to continue, squeezing his head a few more times before completely removing his boxers and leaning over to wrap his lips around him.

Using his ass to hold him in place, Scott pulled Isaac back and forward, going a little deeper each time. Isaac bit his lip with a loud groan to stop himself from being too rough. He locked his fingers in Scott’s hair guiding him to a steady pace as his brow beaded with sweat and his desire to make Scott’s body ache in the same way became too much.

He pulled back on Scott’s hair, causing him to give him a strange look.

“As much as I love to fuck your mouth out I need to fuck the rest of you now, I need all of you… I want to make you shake and swear and _fuck_ I just want you.” He said breathlessly and Scott sat back up, only to have Isaac shove him down onto his back. “Now stay there.” He grinned.

He reached for his drawer and pulled out what he needed, pouring some lube onto his fingers.

“Turn over and get on your knees.” He said softly and Scott did, breathing heavily.

Isaac planted soft kisses down Scott’s spine, making his whole body tingle, even more so when his fingers gently slid over his virgin hole. He let out a quiet whimper at the feel of it and Isaac smiled, bringing his fingers back to circle around it and making Scott’s breath shake.

After a few more caresses he slid a finger inside him up to the knuckle and felt his member throb at how tight he was. Scott groaned again and Isaac pressed into him slowly, pulling gently back and forth.

“If I hurt you just tell me to stop.” He whispered into Scott’s ear.

“Don’t stop… I just… _don’t stop_ …” He said.

Isaac pulled back his finger, adding a second one and pushing in even slower than before, his eyes rolling back in his head at the sound of Scott’s whimpering voice.

“ _Yeah_ … don’t stop…” He breathed.

Isaac scissored his fingers, opening him up a little more and Scott winced for a moment before Isaac was pressing down on his sweet spot causing a wave of pleasure to run through him in a way he had never felt before.

“ _Fuck_ – oh god keep going…” He said and Isaac obliged him, hitting that spot again and again as he stretched him open, the pain nothing compared to how amazing it felt.

As Isaac added a third finger he felt Scott push back onto them and laughed a little. “You’re not ready yet Scott… you want more already?” He teased.

Scott nodded, his eyes closed as Isaac’s fingers gave a short glance over his prostate. “ _Please_ Isaac…” He pleaded, the feeling of even three fingers somehow not enough.

He grew a little rougher, pushing into him a little harder and making Scott bury his face in the bed covers giving Isaac a perfect angle to thrust into him. He pulled his fingers away, Scott letting out a groan at the sudden feeling of emptiness.

He took the condom packet and opened it up, sliding it over his pulsating cock and smearing some more lube onto himself before pressing himself up against Scott’s entrance. He rubbed against it a few times, his body knowing exactly what it wanted and exactly what to do as Scott begged for more. Slowly he pushed his tip inside him, making Scott let out a strangled groan.

“ _Shit_ you’re tight… _Fuck Scott_ …” Isaac grunted, holding tightly to his hips as he eased himself inside.

He slowly bottomed himself out, resting his head on Scott’s shoulder blade as he gave a few shallow pumps, still warming their bodies up and already seeing stars. Gradually he picked up the pace, pulling out further and urging himself back inside in time with Scott’s loud groans. Those groans grew even louder as Isaac angled his hips up and right into Scott’s sweet spot.

He made sounds as though he’d never been touched before, and he hadn’t, not like this. He pushed his hips back in time with Isaac’s thrusts and his fingers curled up around the sheets. Isaac picked up the pace, harder and faster strokes making Scott cry out with the pleasure of it.

“ _Fuck Isaac_ I’m so close… you feel so _fucking_ good… _oh god_ …” He cried.

Isaac wanted to tell him that he was too but the only thing he could manage to get out of his mouth was a constant stream of pants and groans as he revelled in the ecstasy of the moment.

It took only a few more hit’s to his sensitive spot for Scott’s orgasm to tear through him, his body tightening around Isaac whose hips jerked to their own accord as the heat engulfed him. Moments later he was releasing himself into Scott, his entire body shaking.

He let the waves wash over him and sate his need, waiting until the convulsions had stopped before pulling out and rolling to the side.

“We… are definitely doing that… again.” Scott panted, his goofy smile even more ridiculous than normal.

“Yes, definitely… just give me a minute.” Isaac said in a daze and Scott laughed.

“I’m going to need longer than a minute.”

“Okay, maybe ten, fifteen minutes.”

“We could go get food first.” Scott offered with a smile.

“I don’t think I can move… not yet.” Isaac said.

“You’re right, let’s just stay here.”

They both recovered slowly, hands entwined, lying flat-backed on the bed, completely and utterly exhausted… for the next twenty minutes anyway.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

“So what are you going to do this weekend, you know, with Stiles off college hunting with his dad?” Isaac asked as he sat on the couch watching Derek search for a book from the shelf.

Derek’s shoulders tensed and he grit his teeth. “Isaac, why are you still here?”

He shrugged. “Scott’s got some big paper due on Monday and says he can't concentrate when I'm there.”

“Neither can I.” Derek grumbled.

“On what? Staring at the same row of books for five minutes?”

Derek spun around, raising his eyebrows and huffing out loudly through his nose.

Isaac rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, we both know that you let me stay here because you don’t want to be alone.”

Derek shifted his feet to square up with Isaac, folding his arms across his chest with his expression unchanged. “Did you ever think maybe I’m waiting for you to leave?”

Isaac thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Nope, I think you don’t care either way.” Derek narrowed his eyes. “I do think you might be waiting for me to shut up though, yeah, I’m going to shut up now.” He said.

Derek just huffed out again, his eyes spinning in their sockets and turned back around to the bookshelf, back to staring at the same shelf again.

Isaac sighed and lay back on the couch.

“Is there absolutely nowhere else you can be?” Derek asked after a few minutes of nothing but their near-silent breathing.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. But if you get lonely without Stiles I am not coming over to sit with you while you mope about.” Isaac said, knowing that he was walking on ice thinner than tissue paper.

“You know that we spend time apart. I don’t actually _live_ with him.” Derek said.

“No, not yet.” Isaac sniggered. “Don’t expect that to be your permanent situation.” He said before peeling himself off the couch and shoving his wallet into his pocket. “Not going to tell me to be back in by ten?”

“If you’re stupid enough to get yourself into trouble then you deserve what you get.” Derek said. “Now get out.”

Isaac smiled. He knew that Derek was just being his usual grouchy self. He still liked to hide himself behind that mask but the more time he spends with Stiles and the rest of the pack, the more he softens, the more he shows glimpses of the other side to him. Isaac knows that there is a playful part of him in there, a happy, friendly, open and caring guy in there hiding behind the guilt and the tormented past.

He sometimes wished that he would let go of the guilt he felt at being the only one in his family to make it out alive – aside from Peter but in the eyes of most people he really didn’t count – not to mention how he felt responsible for all of it. Despite that, Isaac was just glad to see Derek smile from time to time.

“I’ll see you when I see you.” He waved a little as he stepped into the elevator doors.

As they began to screech shut he heard Derek call to him. “If you wake me up when you get back I will definitely kill you!”

 _Aw, he does care_. Isaac thought.

Derek waited until he couldn’t hear Isaac anymore before he sighed and looked around the empty loft. Stiles wouldn’t be back from Oregon until late Sunday and he knew he would be far too tired to see him until Monday night at the earliest.

As much as he complains about wanting his time to himself, he’s spent too much of it with Stiles to know what to do with himself when he actually _is_ alone. Especially when he would be alone all weekend.

He just hoped that Peter wouldn’t catch wind of it for fear that he would show up for some family bonding time. That usually meant that he was up to no good.

It’s not like he hadn’t thought about what Isaac had mentioned; living with Stiles that is. Of course he had, even if he would vehemently deny it. The major factor when it came down to decisions like that was their age difference. Stiles was still in school for Christ’s sake.

Derek groaned and walked over to fall into one of the armchairs with his head in his hands. The other major factor was the reason for his empty loft; college. That was one thing that Derek did _not_ want to think about.

As if hearing his thoughts, his phone buzzed in his pocket; a welcome distraction.

He fished it out and swiped the screen to open up the new message. His brow furrowed as he read the small digital words.

 

_I think it’s time you and I had a chat. Meet me tonight at that café you and your human trigger are so fond of. 8pm – don’t be late._

_K_

 

There was no doubt of who it could be. The single letter was enough to tell him that he was about to have a meet and greet with his fellow alpha, whether that would be friendly was another question entirely.

 

 

Isaac walked along the path away from the loft, slowly shuffling and waiting for a message from Scott. He had said earlier that he would let him know how well he was going with his study, sadly, it wasn’t great.

 

_Won't be able to see you tonight, this assignment is killing me. Raincheck? Promise I’ll make it up to you ;)_

 

Isaac sighed. He understood why, of course he did. Scott promised Melissa that he would work on his grades for senior year so he didn’t begrudge him that. He was just bored was all.

 

**You better. Love you.**

 

He replied. This was the worst part, finding something to do with himself. He wasn’t really that close to Lydia or Jackson, and he and Allison were sort of a tricky subject at the best of times, what with the whole Scott thing.

Then there was Stiles who was away with his father, and Derek wasn’t in the friendliest mood of all but he suspected that was because he was brooding on some bottled up emotion that he didn’t want to talk about.

He had no idea what Boyd and Erica were up to. Even so he didn’t really feel in the mood to deal with Erica so he called up the one person he could think of to spend some quality time with.

The phone rang almost five times before he heard a voice pick up on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hey Cass, you busy?”

 

 

“So you looking forward to this kiddo?” The sheriff asked, looking away from the road for a second to smile at his son.

“Yeah, it’ll be good to actually see a campus, you know, like a real one not just Beacon Hills Community College.” He said, resting his elbow on the crook of the window.

“You know you could have invited Scott, or Derek if you didn’t want to spend the weekend hanging out with your old man.” He said and Stiles chuckled.

“Well I’d hardly call you old… not really anyway.”

“Careful there kid.” His dad smiled.

Stiles sighed. “Well I did invite Derek but he’s not so thrilled about the whole twelve hours away thing, and Scott doesn’t really want to be too far away either.” The sheriff just nodded. “Plus there are plenty more weekends to go on a college road trip with my friends, hell, Isaac’s friend Cassie said she’d give us the guided tour of Denver if we ever decided to go.”

“She the one who sits on the floor of the spare office down at the station surrounded by mounds of our old files?” He asked.

“Sounds about right, thanks for doing that by the way. She seems to mean a lot to Isaac. You know how old friends are.” Stiles said. “What do you think of her by the way?”

“No problem, and she seems like a nice girl. She sure does ask a lot of questions though.” He said with a smile and Stiles went to apologise but he just shrugged. “Hey, that’s a good quality for someone wanting to get into my line of work, too bad I can't tell her half of the things she wants to know, some of those cases are still open.” He seemed to sigh a little at that. “Most of them are cold cases by now though.”

Stiles felt a pang of guilt. He knew that a lot of those old unexplained attacks and killings were probably the work of werewolves and it was sitting right under the sheriff’s nose. Literally, between Scott and Derek and all the things that happen to Stiles because of supernatural forces, it’s a wonder he hasn’t suspected anything abnormal.

“That boyfriend of hers is a little quiet. I don’t think he likes all the paperwork. They’d make a good pairing if they joined the force, there’s always one who loves to sit and go over the details. She’s passionate, I’ll give her that.”

“Well that makes me feel better about recommending a total stranger to you.” Stiles smiled.

“She had some papers and a letter from her professor in Denver anyway. We don’t just let anyone in to the precinct.”

“I don’t know, I’ve been in there a few times.”

“I said ‘ _let them in_ ’ Stiles, having them _break_ in is an entirely different thing.” The sheriff chuckled.

“To be fair I never _broke_ in… I borrowed your keys.”

“Oh borrowed, is that what you call it?”

“Next subject.” Stiles said with a grin.

“You want to stop for burgers in an hour?”

“Are you kidding? I’m freaking starved.”

 

 

Derek wasn’t stupid. There was no way he would ignore the message he had gotten from Katherine, but there was no way he was going to go alone either.

He thought about calling Isaac back but changed his mind, knowing that he relied on him far too much. His next thought was Scott, but even though this was important Isaac had told him that Scott was studying most of the weekend.

He thought about how he was possibly ruining someone’s plans on a Friday night but this _was_ important.

He called Boyd but it went straight to voicemail – twice. He wouldn’t have worried if it had been anyone else but Boyd was usually on his calls in the first few rings.

Instead he decided on an unlikely candidate – Jackson. He may be a hot-headed, impulse driven newbie but he was strong and he could hold off any of the betas that Katherine may decide to bring with her. And Jackson wasn’t one to say no to some rival pack confrontation.

He gave him the meeting point and told him to be subtle, not to do anything unless Derek gives him the signal. Derek also called Erica and asked her to check in on Boyd when he found out that he wasn’t with her.

After that he looked at his watch and realised that he had fifteen minutes until he had to meet Katherine so he climbed into his Camaro and began the short drive to the place Stiles likes to call their own private coffee haunt.

The timing was perfect, he was right on time. He could smell Jackson’s scent and knew that he was lingering about somewhere. As he pushed the door open to the moderately packed coffee house the bell above it made a tinkling sound and he scanned the room with both his eyes and his nose until he locked onto her.

She sat in the back corner booth, a cup of steaming coffee in her hands despite the time and she was more than overdressed in a deep purple dress with her big black pumps visible from under the table.

Her eyes flicked to him and she turned up the corner of her mouth in a smile. “Nice to see you Derek.” She said, loud enough for his wolf ears to hear her.

He said nothing, he just walked over to her and took a silent seat opposite her.

“Can I offer you a drink? On me.” She said, her smile still stuck to half of her mouth.

“It’s a bit late don’t you think?” Derek said.

“Maybe,” She said, her smile widening. “I see why you like this place so much, their coffee is just to die for.”

“You’ve been watching me.” He said, causing her to let out a small laugh, putting her cup down gently in its saucer and folding one hand over the other.

“On the contrary Derek, it’s you who’s been watching me.”

 

 

Isaac met Cassie on the edge of the town in her dirt-cruncher boots and brown leather jacket with jeans, smiling wildly as her hair fell in cascades around her face.

“Well hello there.” She said.

“Hello yourself, why are you so happy?” Isaac asked.

She pulled a bottle of half-drunk scotch from her satchel and winked at him. “Want to have some real fun? Like old times?”

“Define real fun.” Isaac smiled.

“Take a walk with me.” She said, crossing the road and taking quick steps towards the woods.

She turned back and gave him an expectant look.

“You aren’t serious.” He said.

“Are you scared of the woods Isaac?” She grinned. “Come on! Or are you going to let the mountain lions get me!” She laughed and he shook his head.

“Cassie!” He called as she almost slipped behind the tree line.

He trailed after her, her feet heavy on the dead leaves. He heard her stop and anticipated her jumping out from behind one of the larger trees at him, which she did.

“Oh come on, we always used to go for walks in the woods.” She said once they had set out on a more defined path.

“Yeah, until my father found out, remember?” Isaac said.

She winced a little. “Oh yeah… sorry about that. Did he come down pretty hard on that one?”

Isaac shrugged. “I’d had worse.” He recalled the throwing of fragile objects and the words ‘if I wanted another dead son I’d ship you off with the army too’.

Still, his words rang true; he’d seen a lot worse than that night.

She looked a little sheepish for bringing it up and held out the bottle. Isaac smiled and took it, knowing that it didn’t matter what he drank from the bottle, it wasn’t going to affect him, at least not in a major way.

“So are we going anywhere in particular or are you just looking for some kind of sick thrill?” He asked.

Cassie laughed and took the bottle back after he took a short swig. “Is it wrong that I have a sense of adventure?” She asked, taking a sip herself.

“I’d call it a death wish.”

She put a hushing finger to her lips and took a seat at the base of one of the trees. “Relax, when it gets too dark we can head back. I hope you left a trail of bread crumbs.”

“I think we’ll be okay.” Isaac said.

Cassie took another drink from the bottle and pulled a face. “So…” She said, her face settling after the sharp taste of scotch had dispersed. “Where’s Scott tonight?”

“He has an assignment to do.”

“That sucks, I know how he feels.”

“Yeah.”

“So do you know what you’re doing after you graduate yet?” She asked.

“Haven’t I already told you that I have no idea what I’m doing when I finish high school?”

“Yes, I was wondering if you’d made a decision.” She said.

“Not yet, no.”

“Well you and Scott and Stiles should come with me to Denver for a weekend. I’ll show you around campus, where all the good parties are… we’ll totally tear it up.” She said.

Isaac laughed. “Yeah, yeah maybe.”

“Well don’t let me be drinking all of this. I don’t want you to have to carry me home.” She smiled.

He took the bottle from her and took a drink, knowing that she would be tipsy well before he felt anything.

 

 

Erica headed to Boyd’s house without any warning, she didn’t want to give him a chance to hide what she suspected she would find. When she arrived she could tell that he was inside just from the potency of his scent.

She knew where they kept the spare key so she took it and silently let herself in, his mother and father must have been out because there was no car in the drive. With her feet treading as softly as she could she walked through the living room and down the hall to where she could hear the two heartbeats.

She knew Boyd would hear her coming in a moment so she took three quick steps to his door and wrenched it open.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” She said as Daisy pulled herself back from Boyd, one strap of her tender sun dress fallen from her shoulder and a warning in her eyes.

“Erica!” Boyd said.

“What Boyd? I’d love to hear an explanation for this. Surely it’s not what it looks like.” She said, leaning against the door frame and folding her arms.

Daisy pulled her hand out from underneath Boyd’s and stood up, never taking her eyes off Erica. “I think I should leave now Vernon.” She said coolly.

Boyd stood up with her and she slowly walked past Erica who waved a little as she passed her in the hall. He gave her a shake of his head and a little growl escaped from his throat.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He said.

“Oh that’s rich. Tell me, is she the reason you ignored your calls from Derek? I wonder what he would have to say about that given where he is right about now.” Erica hissed. “I know he said we could keep an eye on them but don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“It’s not like that. I trust Daisy.”

“Oh you trust her? I hope you haven’t let slip anything you shouldn’t have.”

“I’m not stupid; I would never put any of you in danger no matter what my feelings are in the matter.” He said.

“Your feelings? You can't seriously tell me you have feelings for _her_ , of all the werewolves to choose from you chose _her_?” Erica said heatedly.

“We understand each other.” Erica scoffed. “Why do you care so much? Are you jealous that I’ve managed to find someone that I connect with?”

“I am not jealous!” Erica growled, her eyes flashing gold. “I just don’t want anything to cause trouble for us. Did you know that Derek’s meeting with Miss Daisy’s alpha right now? I don’t think either of them would be too happy to learn that the two of you have been… seeing one another like this.”

“You can't say anything to Derek.” Boyd said.

“He’s my alpha!”

“He’s mine too and I’m not going to let him forbid me from seeing her because then I’ll have no choice but to obey him! No one else knows about us.”

“Please,” Erica scoffed again. “I had my suspicions, you get all weird when you talk about her, and not weird like Jackson about Ethan, weird like Isaac was when he was trying to hide his little liaison with Scott. I see more than people think you know. It’s like that when you have no one to distract you.” She said, bitterness in her voice that Boyd almost felt sorry for.

“Erica, please.” He said. “I _care_ about Daisy. Why does this have to be about her pack and ours?”

She rolled her eyes. “I feel like I just walked into Wuthering Heights.”

“Does this mean you won't tell Derek?” Boyd asked and her shoulders relaxed a little as she sighed.

“Boyd, you’re my best friend. If you want to trust this girl then that’s fine, and no, I won't tell. But if shit hits the fan I am not going down for this.” She said.

He exhaled with relief and Erica looked down to her feet. “I do trust Daisy, and I like her, a lot.” He said.

“Yeah I heard you.” Erica said.

“I like her, but I _love_ you. I never had a best friend before you.” Boyd said.

“Now you’re just making shit up.” Erica mumbled and Boyd smiled as he pulled her in for a hug.

She let him for a moment before wriggling out of his grip. “Okay I get it. I’ll figure out something to tell Derek, alright? I’ll say you were in your bedroom doing god knows what.”

Boyd let out a rumbling laugh. “That’s the best you can do, huh?”

“It’s the best of the truth to stop him from realising that I’m lying.”

“Thank you.” He said.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll just add you to the long list of people who owe me shit.”

 

 

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.” Derek said in return to Katherine’s allegation.

She smiled coyly. “Don’t lie to me Derek, that’s no way to a woman’s heart.”

Derek said nothing. He sat with his usual blank glaring face, trying to give nothing away and decode her words at the same time.

“I thought we agreed to a peaceful truce.” She said. “But then again I seem to remember some terms, and I believe they were yours.”

“Stay out of our way and we’ll stay out of yours.” Derek stated, rehashing their earlier conversation.

“And yet here we are.” She said.

“What are you accusing me of doing?” Derek’s eyes narrowed.

“I am accusing you of breaking that word that we agreed on. You and your pack have been watching us, closely. Don’t think I haven’t noticed Derek.” She said, a hit of menace in her voice.

She sounded like she was worried about something, whether that was Derek’s pack finding out about something or her pack failing to complete some predetermined task, something was off.

“Your betas attend the same high school as mine, you can't expect there to be no crossover.”

“No, maybe not, but there is no coincidence that all of them took an interest around the same time.” She said.

Derek let out the smallest hint of a sigh. His betas weren’t the stealthiest of werewolves.

“I’m going to assume you’re not alone.” He said.

Katherine actually laughed at that, a loud cackling sound that ended with her shaking her head. “Now Derek, I couldn’t show up alone could I? Not when I knew that you wouldn’t be honouring that.”

“So we agree… we don’t trust one another.”

Katherine smiled that twisted half smile again. “Keep your betas at bay. I don’t want to catch anyone snooping around in my business.”

“What do you have to hide?” Derek asked.

This time Katherine’s face dropped into a dark glare. “If I’m hiding something then it’s mine to hide. I just thought I would offer you the courtesy of a warning.”

“Is this a warning or a threat?” Derek asked and Katherine just smiled, her eyes looking past Derek to Jackson, who was standing by the counter and staring at them.

“I’ll let you decide.” She said as Aiden appeared by her side, giving them the same smile as Katherine was.

She stood up slowly and ran her hand over Derek’s shoulder as she walked past him, winking at Jackson before heading to the door.

“See you in school.” Aiden said cockily and Jackson let out a low growl, his eyes never leaving the two of them until his nose could no longer smell them.

He took long strides over to Derek and sat down in the spot that Katherine had just occupied.

“You think they’re hiding something?” He asked softly.

“Something’s not right.” Derek said.

“So what are we going to do? Do you take her threats seriously?”

Derek thought for a moment. “I won't discredit them. We need to be careful where they’re concerned now. No more detailing them.”

“If they are up to something they have my best friend in the crossfire I can't just―”

“I said no _detailing_ them I didn’t say we were going to do nothing.” Derek said.

“So… what are we going to do?” Jackson asked.

“We’re going to talk to the others, figure out the best way to draw out her secrets.”

“I feel like that’s going to involve making her angry.” Jackson groaned.

“That’s usually the way to get something out of someone.”

 

 

The darkness of the night began to swallow up the forest. Isaac almost didn’t notice as he and Cassie sat up talking and drinking. He felt a sense of nostalgia at that. Just the two of them, wandering through the trees and laughing at every word.

“You ever wonder what things would be like if I’d a stayed here?” Cassie asked, a slight slur in her speech.

“Sometimes,” Isaac admitted. “A lot more now, but I know why you had to leave.”

“It was never because of you, Isaac, you were that one thing that almost made me want to stay.” She said, her voice soft, almost wishful.

“I told you to go Cass, you needed to get out of here. I mean it was bad enough for me but you―”

“Well I got away from that.” She said sharply.

“Did you?”

She looked up at him with her lips in a flat line. “You never did, you never will. No one does, not really. It’s not the place that holds the memories.”

Isaac swallowed and looked away.

“Sorry…” she said softly. “I just… you learn things in the big wide world. You learn lots of things about… you learn the truth, you know?”

“I know.” Isaac said, because by god did he know.

His senses began to tingle, at first he thought it was the direction of the conversation but when he heard the far off footsteps from inside the trees he knew that it was more than that. He stood up and tried to look around but he couldn’t see anything, he could just hear it, smell it.

“Isaac what’s wrong?” Cassie asked.

“Nothing, I just think it’s dark enough for us to make our exit now.” He said, offering her his hand and keeping from her the rest of it.

“Scared of the dark?” She asked with a smile.

“Not really, but I probably should be.” He said, keeping hold of her hand to make sure she didn’t fall as he led her out of the woods.

It didn’t take them long to see the blaring lights of the town and they walked along the road for a long while, Cassie leading him back to her apartment. It was only when they stopped outside a short street that he realised he was still holding her hand.

“Thanks for walking me back, feels a lot safer with you here than doing it alone.” She said.

“Anytime Cass, really.” He smiled.

She reached up to hug him, her arms circling his neck and her eyes closing as she took a moment to breathe him in. When she finally let go she wobbled a bit and laughed to herself.

“Sorry, I think that scotch got to my head.” She smiled.

“I’ll see you round okay?” Isaac said.

She leant up to place a kiss on his cheek, her unstable gait making her lips fall slightly off centre, the corner only briefly glancing Isaac’s to which she apologised again and waved him goodbye and began walking down her street.

He watched her go, making sure she got to her door safely and in the distance saw Cal open the door for her and then she was gone. He sighed and took out his phone.

 

_You sure you’re too busy for just a little bit of spooning?_

 

He sent to Scott but after a few minutes of silence he heard nothing and so he sighed again, heading back to Derek’s for the rest of the night alone.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Derek decided to wait until the morning to rally the rest of the pack and talk them through the goings on of the night before. When he got back to the loft he knew that Isaac was already there and thought better than to bother him.

He knew Jackson would have trouble keeping his mouth shut and he was right because it ended up being Isaac who bothered him with a text that called a pack meeting for the next day. Derek would have to remember to tell Jackson not to be too eager but he knew he was only doing it because he cared about his friend.

Derek often wondered if they were headed for another human addition to the pack with Danny, but Jackson was sure that he didn’t want to involve him in that world. He knew it would make him a target if something bad were ever to happen and Derek was just fine keeping their secret with as few people as possible.

They all made their separate ways to the loft, all but Lydia who claimed that if Stiles didn’t have to go then she didn’t either, given her human status. Jackson tried to argue that Stiles wasn’t even in the state but she told him that there was nothing much she could do about their issues with the other pack anyway.

He gave up on the argument after that and just headed over to Allison’s to pick her up.

Boyd and Erica walked to the loft from his place in mostly silence.

“You know what he’s going to say don’t you?” Erica said, not looking up at Boyd as they walked.

He sighed. “I’m trying not to think about it.” He said.

“Well you’re not going to have much of a choice. If he says―”

“I know what it means Erica.” He snapped.

“I’m just saying, that’s all. You had to know this wasn’t a good idea when you started.”

“Thanks Erica.” Boyd said and Erica just rolled her eyes.

“Just saying is all.” She said. “Guess I’ll shut up now.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” He said.

 

Scott headed up to the loft and was greeted by Isaac with a big kiss less than two feet out of the elevator.

“Missed you.” He said with a grin and Scott just laughed.

“One day away from me, man, you must really get bored.” He said.

“Yeah well, Stiles is away, Derek’s a grouch and God knows what Erica and Boyd get up to.” Isaac said.

“What about Jackson and Lydia?” Scott smiled.

“That’s a laugh, thank god Cassie’s back or I would seriously go mad.”

Scott’s smile faded a little, but not enough for Isaac to notice on a glance. “You hung out with Cassie last night?”

“Yeah, just some old school stuff like we used to back when we were younger. Hanging out in the woods and talking and stuff.” Isaac said absentmindedly.

Scott nodded in silence. “Awesome.”

“Sorry, is that not… cool?” Isaac asked.

“What? No, it’s fine. I mean you could have told me―”

“Oh my god, Scott!” Isaac huffed.

“Can the two of you wait to do this later, when I’m _not_ around?” Derek’s voice rang out from the top of the stairs, eyeing them as though they might start up again any second.

“Chill out Derek, we’re not―” Isaac started.

“Yes, you are.” He said with raised eyebrows as he passed them and headed to the kitchen.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Scott said.

“Talk about what exactly?” Isaac asked.

“Nothing, it’s not even a big deal.”

“Then why are you making it a big deal?”

“You know that _this_ is talking about it don’t you?” Derek said, folding his arms as he leant against the bench.

“Derek tell me that―” Scott started.

“I am not getting involved in your teenage crap.” He said.

“Yeah well think about that next time you decide to make a pack full of them.”

“Thought you weren’t a part of this pack officially.” Derek said.

“I’m not your _beta_ , that doesn’t mean I'm not part of this pack.” He huffed.

“Don’t mind his attitude; he’s just a little crazy-jealous at the moment.” Isaac said and Scott looked over to send a response his way but Boyd and Erica were already walking into the loft from the elevator.

“Not late are we? We can hear your bickering from all the way downstairs.” Erica said, striding in and perching herself up on the bench next to Derek.

“You’re not late.” Derek said before walking away from her to stand by the couch.

Erica bit down on her lip and shook her head a little.

“So what’s this about?” Boyd asked.

“We can wait for the others.” Derek said.

“Lydia isn’t coming, she said the supernatural is not her strongest area, especially without another non-werewolf-hunter human involved.” Erica said.

“Fine by me.” Derek said.

“I’ll get Jackson to fill her in, and I can call Stiles if you want―” Isaac started to say before Derek cut him off.

“No one tells Stiles. Not until he gets back.”

“What? You’re going to keep it a secret from him?” Scott asked.

“For now, yes.”

“Why?”

“He doesn’t need a reason to be distracted. Let him spend the next two days with his dad and we can tell him as soon as he gets back.” Derek said.

“So you’re saying that when he texts me to ask what’s been going on I lie to him?” Scott said.

“You know that’s not what I’m saying.”

“It might be a good idea Scott. You know he’d just worry and forget about all of that college stuff.” Isaac offered and Scott just seemed to give him a disappointed glare.

“Yep, Derek’s _always_ right.” Erica said sarcastically.

Derek huffed out a sigh right about the time Jackson and Allison walked in with sour looks and an unexpected visitor.

“Guess who we picked up on the way in here.” Jackson grumbled as Peter walked out through the elevator doors.

“And here I was thinking that maybe my nephew would be happy to see me.” He said.

Derek thought on that. “You know what, I am.” He said.

He walked towards him swiftly until his forearm was pressed up under Peter’s chin and he was being slammed up against the wall. Everyone flinched at the sudden movement and Peter’s mouth was twisted up in a smile.

“See, you could have fooled me.” He choked.

“How much do you know?” Derek said calmly.

“Only as much as you.”

“How did Katherine get my number?”

“I don’t know!”

“How long have you been watching her?”

“Since she got here!”

“You didn’t think to tell me she was sniffing us out?”

“I see you’re making up for the wit this group is lacking without Stiles―” Derek let out a loud growl and Peter put his hands up in submission. “Alright! Okay!”

Derek’s glare never broke as he let him go and stepped back, everyone else just sort of stared at them dumbfounded. Peter straightened out his clothing and walked into the circle of teenagers in the loft.

“I had no idea that she was… tailing you so to speak.” Peter started. “I do know that she has been extra meticulous about her pack meetings recently. It seems our little rivals have a curfew.”

“They go back there every day? At the same time?” Jackson asked.

“Mostly, yes.”

“How do you know that she never saw you there?” Isaac asked.

“I wasn’t there as often as you might think.” Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, holding it up and opening up one of his programs.

He held it out to Scott who took it warily, looking down at the screen to see it split in two, cameras watching both entries to the house that Katherine’s pack had been living in.

“You planted cameras? Are you kidding? You think she wouldn’t be able to smell that you had been there?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot Scott?” Isaac growled at him a little and Peter just rolled his eyes at both of them. “I intentionally got myself caught in the first few days, let myself get maimed a little, all in the name of gathering information. My scent was everywhere. I’m not an idiot but I can do quite a fine job in playing one.”

“You think we haven’t noticed?” Erica quipped.

“And what exactly do _you_ bring to this group Blondie?” Peter cocked his head. “They already have someone specialising in sarcastic wit and another in crass demeanours, so please explain your significance to me.”

“Enough.” Derek said. “I want the feeds from your cameras and anything else you might know. If you don’t want to help then I want you to leave, now.”

“Even if he is going to help, do we really want him here?” Jackson said.

“I’m hurt.” Peter said, sounding anything but. “Then again, for some of you it doesn’t surprise me.” He said, looking over at Allison with a smile and then letting his gaze linger on Boyd.

“This isn’t helping.” Derek groaned.

“Fine, well why don’t you tell me what exactly you’re looking for?” Peter said.

“A reason as to why she made contact.”

“I can only assume that you’re coming close to something she holds dear, and by that I mean a secret. A nomad who doesn’t roam, surely there is something to say about that.”

“Well all of this passive watching and waiting really doesn’t seem to be working in the way of finding it out. There’s got to be something else we can do.” Allison said.

“I’m sure you could think of many ways to extract the truth from her.” Peter said and Allison narrowed her eyes.

“I can think of a few ways to keep you quiet too.” She said.

“Stop talking.” Derek snapped at Peter. “How much does your dad know about the others?”

Allison shrugged. “If he knows anything he’s not telling me about it.”

“He probably knows that something is going on, he always seems to know.” Scott said.

“Well if things start getting serious I guess I’ll have to actually bring it up, won't I?” She folded her arms.

“Probably.” Derek said.

“That still doesn’t answer the question of ‘what are we going to do now’.” Isaac said.

“She’s worried about something, something that we must be getting close to.” Derek said.

“There’s no way she missed us keeping tabs on her betas, I mean we weren’t subtle about that. We weren’t trying to be.” Scott said.

“Yes but she would have noticed that quite a while ago, why bring it up now?” Jackson asked. “What changed?”

Erica looked up at Boyd carefully and he gave her a half-look back. Both of them suspected the same thing.

“Maybe someone in this room had a clue to that.” Peter said, staring suspiciously over at the two of them. “Is there something either of you know that you would like to share?” He smiled with a glint in his eye and the rest of them began staring too.

“What’s going on?” Scott asked.

Boyd’s heartbeat began to speed up, he didn’t want this to be the way the subject of he and Daisy came out. Erica rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

“Relax Boyd, I can tell them myself.” His head snapped towards her and she continued. “It’s me, okay? I haven’t been totally honest about my ‘keeping tabs’ on one of those twins. You know, the straight one. We’ve been seeing one another secretly, and I haven’t been telling you because― well because it’s none of your business how I feel about him really.” She said blatantly.

“Your heartbeat ticked, you’re lying.” Peter said in a low growl.

“Or maybe I’m anticipating the quick removal of my head at admitting that I put the rest of the pack in danger.” She hissed back.

“No one is losing their head. Why wouldn’t you tell me that?” Derek said, his brow in a low-hanging line and his lips set menacingly.

“Who I sleep with is none of your business.” She said.

“It is when it puts the rest of us in a position like this.” Scott said coldly.

“You knew about this?” Derek asked Boyd.

“Of course he knew, we’re best friends we tell each other everything.” She said. “Well, _I_ tell him everything, sometimes I have no idea what’s going on in his head.” She gave him an accusatory look while she bit down on her lip.

“The point of this was never to get _too_ close but clearly you ignored what I said before.” Derek said.

“I’m sorry.” She said gruffly.

“It’s done now, we need to change tactics.” Derek said.

“To what? She’s already pissed off to no end.” Jackson groaned.

“We’ve tried being subtle, we’ve tried being obvious, how about just plain aggressive?” Isaac said slowly, all eyes turning to him. “Not in the crazy throat-slashing way, but in the ‘I know you threatened me and I don’t care’ kind of way.”

“Well what is it?” Allison asked.

“A party.”

“A party? That’s your big plan to solve all our problems, a party.” Jackson said

“I mean I know I said Stiles was full of useless ideas when he thought it up but maybe we need this to figure out why she’s so mad. If they show up then it’s not seeing us that’s the problem, if they don’t then we have one more bit of information.” He shrugged. “Besides this whole thing is just going to stay the same unless we do something to appease Katherine or make her angry.”

“It’s not a terrible idea.” Boyd said.

“And you can invite your lovely beta boyfriend.” Peter said with a wicked smile over at Erica who just breathed in and out heavily, never looking up from the floor. “Or is it too soon to call him that? Perhaps we should stick with something along the lines of ‘boy-toy’.”

“Hey, shut up.” Boyd said.

“Just leave it alone Boyd.” Erica snapped.

Scott, Isaac and Jackson all exchanged strange looks.

“I can invite Danny, that’s an instant reach out to Ethan.” Jackson said.

“If Erica has the other one then I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to get the girl in too.” Isaac said.

“Lydia should be able to rustle up a guest list in no time.” Allison said.

“Derek?” Boyd asked.

He looked around at them all and sighed. “You think you can set up your camera system in here?” He looked at Peter.

“Well, initial set-up wasn’t cheap―”

“ _Not_ what I asked.”

“It shouldn’t take too much effort on my part.”

“May I suggest that Derek and Stiles be the ones to review the footage though, depending on when you install these cameras? Trust me; no one wants to see that.” Isaac said.

“This isn’t for fun, we’ll need someone keeping an eye on the outside of the building too. If Katherine is as bothered by this as we think she is then she won't hesitate to make an appearance, even if it is just to see things for herself.” Derek said.

“I wouldn’t mind keeping my eye on her.” Peter said and Allison rolled her eyes.

“You’re gross.” Erica said.

“Shall we open your bag of tricks sweet heart?” He said back.

“One, I’m not your sweet heart. Two, you can suck my―”

“Enough.” Derek raided his voice and Erica turned away again. “Friday night. It’s settled. Jackson, you can call Lydia and get her to make it a full house. Peter and I will make sure we can have eyes in here even when we aren’t looking. I don’t care about the actual details. The rest of you can sort that out but I’m not cleaning this place after it’s been wrecked by a bunch of teenagers. It’s bad enough with the lot of you here all the time.” He said. “And no one tells Stiles until he gets back, understand?”

“I still think that’s a mistake.” Scott announced.

“Then go ahead, do it. What do you think his father will say to him if he tries to explain why he needs to come back here a day early?” Derek snapped.

“As much as it burns the inside of my mouth to say it, he’s right.” Erica said.

“Just keep an eye out for trouble this week. I don’t need anyone bothering me with ransom calls because they’ve collected you in some kind of payback for something I don’t even know if we’ve done.” Derek muttered. “You, get out.” He said to Peter.

“And here I was thinking we could catch up with a beer, for old times’ sake.” Peter smiled.

“It’s not even eleven yet. Get out.”

Reluctantly, he did. The others slowly followed, all except Scott and Isaac. Erica stormed out, past all of them and to god knows where. Not even Boyd followed her. He could see that she was just about ready to tear off someone’s ear and thought better of chasing after her.

Derek headed upstairs, giving Scott and Isaac some time alone.

“You should invite Cassie to this thing.” Scott said after a while of not saying much.

“Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? It was only like an hour ago that you were bitching about my spending time with her.” Isaac said.

“I wasn’t― I think spending time with her is great for you, but maybe I would feel better about it if I actually knew the girl.” He said.

“Well if that’s what you want then I’ll invite her. I just thought maybe it would be easier if we just stuck to our plans this time.”

“Well we want to seem relatively normal don’t we? Besides, we’ll take it in turns I suppose.” Scott shrugged.

“So is that what you were so weird about? That you don’t know her and I do?” Isaac asked.

“Sort of, I guess it’s not that _you_ know _her_ , it’s that _she_ knows _you_ , probably better than anyone else, including me.” He said, looking down at the ground.

“Just because she lived with me through all of that stuff doesn’t mean she knows be any better than you, just that she has more of a… first-hand knowledge of it. Besides, we have forever to become better acquainted.” Isaac grinned.

“Oh yeah? When did I sign on for a full time commitment?” Scott teased.

“What you got a little something on the side? Or have you been lying this whole time just to get into my pants?”

“The last one, definitely the last one.”

“There are easier ways to do that you know.”

“I know, I’ve found out numerous ways of getting into your pants, the easiest of which is just telling you that I want to get into your pants.”

“You make me sound so cheap.”

“Don’t pretend you’re not.” Scott laughed.

“So… you got some time to hang out or are you still behind on that paper?” Isaac asked with a mischievous grin.

“I’ve got some time to kill I suppose.”

 

By the time eight o’clock came around Stiles was exhausted. He and his father had spent most of the day checking out the campus at Portland and looking into the courses they offered as well as the extra curricula’s. The place was far bigger than Stiles had thought it would be and the food was better than he expected.

He had come along on the trip with his expectations and desires low, he didn’t really want to be going to college so far away but if he was honest, it was actually really awesome. They had an early dinner at one of the restaurants just off campus and when they got back to the motel the sheriff practically fell asleep before he even hit the couch.

He had told Stiles to take the small bedroom and that he was happy to crash on the couch, he always hated motel bedrooms anyway. Stiles didn’t ask why, he just accepted the offer and made the small room his own.

He smiled down at his dad after their dinner, already snoring on the couch. He was going to have to drive the both of them back to Beacon Hills the next day and sleep was exactly what he was going to need for that.

Stiles walked into the bathroom and had a hot shower under the terrible pressure of the motel shower-head before collapsing back onto the bed with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

He reached over to grab his phone from the table by the bed and hit the speed dial for Derek’s number. Typical Derek picked up after only two rings.

“Hey.” He said.

“Hey yourself.” Stiles said softly.

“How’s Portland?”

Stiles shrugged even though Derek couldn’t see him. “It’s not bad, different to Beacon Hills though.”

“Everywhere is.”

“Right, I forgot you’ve been all over the country and back. No place like home huh?” He smiled, having missed the sound of his voice.

“Something like that.”

“So what have you been doing the last day and a half? I bet you’re glad to be rid of me.”

“Well, it’s been a lot quieter around here.”

“No maiming or mangling while I’ve been gone?” Stiles joked.

Derek paused for only a second before letting out a little chuckle. “Everything is the same as always.”

“You seem especially quiet tonight.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Yeah, I suppose we never actually talk on the phone either. You usually just break into my house.” Stiles teased.

“It’s not breaking in when you leave the window open.”

“I bet that’s what all the criminals say.”

“Probably.”

The silence on the line was starting to make Stiles uncomfortable, besides, he had other things on his mind.

“So, you all alone in that big scary loft?” He asked, a smile laden in his voice.

“Isaac and Scott are here, they just ordered pizza.” Derek said.

“I take it your hidden away in your room then?”

“Obviously, I’m not hungry anyway.”

“Maybe you’ve just got nothing to whet your appetite.” Stiles said softly.

Derek paused for a moment before his words came through the phone line. “Stiles, no.” He said.

“No what? Why are you telling me know when I haven’t asked anything yet?” Stiles said.

“You had that voice on.”

“What voice?”

“You know perfectly well what voice you were using Stiles.”

“Oh come on Derek… just keep your voice down and whisper some nice things in my ear.” He drawled, using the voice that, _yes_ , he knew he had.

“How did I not guess that your kink would involve _talking_?”

“I bet you’d be really good at it too…”

“Stiles…” Derek said with a warning tone.

“Hell, just your voice will do… I’ll do that thing you like when I get back. You know what, the one where I put my hands on your―”

“Stiles, stop.” Derek cut him off.

“Oh come on, if I’m actually going to go to college in another state you’re going to have to get used to it, we might as well try it now.” His words were met with more silence. “Derek?”

“I didn’t think you wanted to go to school in Portland.” He said quietly.

Stiles sighed. “Really Derek? You’re going to bring that up again? _Now_?”

“Why not now? I thought you said you weren’t interested in Portland.” He said.

“Well I wasn’t but hell, I hadn’t been yet and it’s a nice place. It’s only the first one I’ve been to Derek, I’m sure I’ll like the other ones too.”

“There are plenty of colleges in California―”

“You think I don’t know that? You think I won't check any of them out? This is one college Derek and just because I’m here doesn’t mean that this is where I’m going to go. Can you stop trying to control this for one freaking night?” Stiles put a hand to his forehead and let out a sigh.

Derek stayed quiet on his end of the line, scolding himself internally for saying anything. Mostly he was just wishing Stiles was with him because of the whole Katherine thing.

“Sorry I―” Stiles started before sighing again. “I think I’m just tired from driving last night and then being out all day today. We can talk about this in the week I guess.”

“You like it there then?”

“Derek just don’t worry about it okay? I’m tired anyway.” Stiles said.

“Stiles we can―”

“Look Derek I think we should probably just call it a night okay?”

This time Derek nodded, knowing that Stiles couldn’t see him. “Okay.”

“Good night Derek.”

“Night.”

Stiles pressed the end call button and dropped the phone at his side. _Well that worked out real well Stiles,_ he thought to himself. After lying there for a few minutes he heard the ping of his message tone.

He picked it up and opened the message from Derek.

 

**So what’s that thing I like that you were promising to do to me?**

 

Stiles scoffed.

 

_Come on Derek don’t do this_

 

**Tell me**

 

_You know you don’t want me to_

 

**I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t, let me guess, you were naked when you called?**

 

Stiles looked down at his towel clad body and rolled his eyes. He didn’t think he was _that_ predictable.

 

_I may have just had a shower_

 

It was a few more minutes before Derek replied… with a picture message. Stiles was already cursing himself for the speed increase of his heart.

 

**So have I**

 

Stiles clicked on the attachment and blinked a few times, taking a moment of looking to see the entire picture.

On his first glance all he saw was Derek’s smouldering face and his shoulders – which was enough to make him drool as it was, what with the jaw line and the cheek bones. And then he saw the rest of the picture. What he thought was just blank space was actually a mirror, full length, and revealing a very naked Derek from the back.

 _How and when the fuck did Derek get so good at taking a self-shot?_ He thought.

 

**So you going to tell me yet?**

 

Stiles rolled his eyes with a smile and hit Derek’s icon with his thumb and put the phone to his ear. Derek picked up after one ring.

“Yeah?” He said.

“Alright, shut up you smart ass. I didn’t even know you had a full length mirror.”

“It’s in Isaac’s room.” Derek chuckled.

“You snuck into Isaac’s room? Total bad boy move there.”

“It’s my house, but obviously that turns you on.”

“ _You_ turn me on… bad boy or not.” Stiles said.

“How?” Derek asked, his voice low.

Stiles’ voice caught in his throat. “I am probably going to be really crappy at this.” He said, staring down at the growing bulge under his towel.

“Nothing you do with that mouth could be terrible Stiles, you know it’s that stupid mouth that I like so much.”

Even though they weren’t meant to, those words made Stiles exhale heavily and scoot down into a more comfortable position and spread the familiar warmth over him. He smirked to himself, pressing his palm into the solid form beneath the towel. “Hmm, where have I heard that before?”

He heard Derek’s breathing slow down too and closed his eyes, trying to focus on every sound coming from the other end of the line. “Well go on then _Stiles_ … start talking.”

Stiles let out a breathy moan as he gave himself a slow squeeze. “So long as you keep saying my name like that…”

“Just tell me what you want me to say and I’ll say it.”

Stiles groaned again, “Damn it, I love when you’re submissive. I’m going to tell you what I want to do to you and I want to hear what you think of it all…” He breathed and Derek growled back a throaty ‘yeah’.  “You back in your own bed now?” He breathed.

“Door’s locked.” Derek mumbled.

“You lock it when you’re jerking off but not when you have my ankles hauled up over your shoulders?” Stiles smirked.

“No one said anything about me jerking off.”

“I can hear it in your voice… I used to imagine the way you sounded, back before we got together…” Stiles said.

“Keep going…” Derek urged.

“I used to picture myself working you undone, that little hitch you get in your voice whenever I touch you…” He heard it then, the sound that he couldn’t quite control slipping through his lips, and felt his own body ache at the distance between them. “I’d thought about having you fuck me.”

“ _Oh_ ― yeah, _keep going_ …” Derek’s voice sounded strained and wrung out, making Stiles bite down on his lip.

“…imagining what it felt like to have you inside me…”

“You want to know what I would think about?” Derek’s voice rumbled through the line and Stiles felt his skin come alive as the rest of his body grew closer to elation.

“ _God_ yes, I don’t even care what you tell me just… yeah just _talk_.” He pleaded.

“I wanted to taste every inch of you, to hear your heart pounding like crazy under my hands, under my mouth. And you know what Stiles, you taste _even better_ than I had imagined.” His drawn out voice sounded so perfect in Stiles’ ears and he didn’t respond, he just continued to pump himself faster, his loud breathing slowly tipping Derek past the point of no return. “ _Fuck―_ Stiles!” he cried in a way that sounded almost like a desperate whimpering and let himself go.

The sound of his name and waves of blissful moaning from Derek’s line was that last little thing Stiles needed and with a strangled groan he descended into his own ecstasy. They both left a few moments of panting hanging in the air before Stiles said anything.

“Damn, that just made me wish I was back there with you.” He chuckled. “I forgot how much I liked to cuddle.”

“I forgot how much I liked having a double bed to myself.” Derek joked.

“You’re a real funny guy, you know that?” Stiles said sarcastically.

Derek huffed out a long contented sigh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done _that_.” He said.

Stiles smiled. “Wait, do you mean jerked off or phone sex?” He asked and Derek just laughed. “No seriously, which one?”

“I’ll see you when you get back Stiles.” Derek cooed.

“Oh come on you can't just drop something like that and then leave it.”

“Good night Stiles.” Derek chuckled.

“You’re a terrible person, did you know that?” Stiles smiled.

They two of them hung up and Stiles got up to clean himself up a little before settling in under the sheets. Although they had said their – sort of – goodbyes it didn’t stop Stiles from sending him a few more text messages.

He didn’t expect much of a response but Derek was feeling particularly boyfriend-y and it was only after a few hours Derek told him that they both needed at least some sleep. Reluctantly they put the phones to the side.

Derek knew that he would still be up thinking over everything for a while longer yet. The emptiness of the loft felt even more prevalent with the knowledge that Stiles wasn’t just ten minutes away in his bed, he was over twelve hours away in Portland. The fear that all of that silence could be the new normal in just six short months made Derek’s stomach turn. They say that silence can be deafening but to Derek it was crushing.

 

_Hey Sourwolf?_

 

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

 

**How many times do I have to say good night before you let me sleep?**

_I love you_

 

Derek sighed.

 

**I love you too**

 

_Not so hard, was it?_

Derek was definitely not responding to that.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lydia set her socialite skills to work as soon as possible, by Sunday night people were already talking about this up-and-coming event. The fact that it was taking place in a loft surrounded by old warehouses made it that much cooler.

Friday night was all set to be one of the hottest nights of the social calendar and hopefully it would bring them one step closer to figuring out this new pack.

Communications between Erica and Boyd were tenuous. He didn’t know why she took the rap for him and she was still annoyed at him for seeing Daisy – even if he hadn’t seen her since Erica caught the two of them together. He was, however, meeting Daisy at their secret place by the lake that night, this time without Erica’s interruption.

No one really heard from her over the rest of the weekend, no one except Stiles, but the only one to really talk to _him_ was Derek, and Scott, though his texts weren’t quite the same. Derek was anxious to see him after the weekend away. He would claim that it was because he missed the feeling of having him around, which was still the truth, rather than the humiliating fact that he just didn’t want Stiles to be gone for college.

He knew that the two of them wouldn’t be back until later that night, much later, being twelve hours away and all. He waited until about ten to head on over to their place on foot, waiting around for them to get home. It was almost an hour before he heard the familiar hum turning into the street and even before they had the doors open in the driveway Derek could feel Stiles’ scent embracing him.

“Oh my god I forgot what the ground felt like.” He chuckled as he heard Stiles groan the instant he was out of the car.

“We took a rest stop four hours ago.” His father griped. “Quit your whinging.”

“I will the second I feel my own bed underneath me.” He said, searching for his keys in his pocket.

“Oh you’re complaining about that? I was the one sleeping on a motel couch the last two nights.” The sheriff said as Stiles managed to get the door open.

“Yeah, yeah, quit your whinging…” The door shut behind them and Derek heard the tired laugh of the sheriff as they flicked the lock and both headed straight upstairs.

Derek waited a few minutes, almost worried that Stiles would just collapse into bed without even a text but it wasn’t long before he heard him prop the window up and the springs on his bed creak and bounce.

He smiled to himself as he crossed the road and climbed easily up the side of the house and onto the roof, slipping in silently through the window. He leant against the wall and folded his arms. Stiles rolled over with a big dopey grin on his face.

He swung his legs over and hopped up to throw himself into Derek, propelling him slightly off balance and kissing him hard on the mouth. Derek was still smiling and let out a laugh as he pulled his arms out from between them to wrap around him.

“Ouch, Derek, you’re stronger than you look.” He said, squeezing back.

“Not by much.”

“Good to see that arrogance hasn’t faded since I’ve been gone.”

“How was Portland?” Derek asked, still not letting him go.

Stiles shrugged. “It was good, kind of rainy but good. I swear I’ll have to sleep for two days to get over those car trips though.” He groaned.

“You have school in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay _dad_.” Stiles scoffed.

“I’m not your dad.” Derek shifted his eyebrows cockily.

“No, no you most certainly aren’t otherwise what we did last night was so _totally_ crossing a line.” Derek shook his head. “I mean majorly ridiculously―”

Derek pressed his lips into him again and Stiles stopped his talking in an instant. He took in the feel of him, the taste of him; the way his lips felt so smooth in contrast to his stubbled cheek and chin.

“Hmm, you know I would love to continue this train of thought but I am way too tired to even think about―”

“Stiles?” Derek said after he pulled his sleepy lips back.

“Yeah?”

“We have all the time in the world for that. Just get into bed so we can sleep.” He said, reluctantly letting him go.

“And here I was thinking you had some big sexy ‘welcome home Stiles’ plans for me.” He chuckled, stepping back and plopping down onto the bed again.

“I’ll use them to wake you up in the morning… before you go to school.” Stiles groaned. “I just wanted to see you.” He added quietly.

“Good, missed you.” He mumbled, already lying back on top of the covers.

“Not even going to take your shoes off?” Derek asked, staring down at his dozy human adoringly.

Stiles held his arms out with his eyes closed. “Help me.” He groaned playfully.

“You’re a sad little person did you know that?” Derek said, reaching down and starting with his shoes.

“And you’re the weirdo that loves me, so what does that make you?”

“I don’t know, a ‘weirdo’ I guess.” He said.

Slowly he pulled him out of most of his clothes, leaving him in just his thin tee and boxers – boxers that were slightly tented.

“I thought you were way too tired for that.” Derek said with that arrogant tick on the side of his mouth.

“Oh I can't control that… it’s just that when you’re undressing me… _it_ gets ideas.” Stiles drawled.

“It?” Derek asked with an eyebrow raised as he pulled off his leather jacket and kicked off his shoes.

“Would you just get in here with me?” Stiles snapped and rolled onto his side.

Derek smiled, lastly taking off his jeans before climbing in beside Stiles and pasting himself to his body, wrapping an arm around him and holding him in place.

Stiles let out a contented sigh. “Why are you always so warm?” He mumbled.

Derek shrugged. “Wolf thing, go to sleep.” He murmured in his ear.

“Missed you.” Stiles said again softly.

Derek kissed him just below his earlobe and nuzzled into him without saying another word. He knew there would be enough words to say when he told him about Katherine.

 

 

The next day at school Stiles spent most of it just yawning and doodling on bits of paper in class. It was going to take another night’s sleep to shake off the travel sickness crap he was feeling, not to mention the smack in the face from Derek that morning.

He was still kind of pissed about that, mostly at the fact that _no one_ had said a word about it. Nothing. Not even _Scott_ for crying out loud. He was first to the cafeteria for lunch so he took a seat at one of the bigger tables and planted his head firmly on his arms and closed his eyes.

“Dude, you don’t look so good.” Jackson said as he and Lydia sat down opposite him.

“I’m tired from all the god-damn driving.” He grumbled. “Among other things.”

Lydia pouted her lips and rubbed her thumb about the shiny side of her apple as she avoided talking about what she knew he was griping over.

“Not even going to ask.” Jackson said, not too worried over Stiles’ troubles.

Scott and Isaac joined them a few moments later; Stiles still hadn’t moved from his slumped position.

“What’s his problem?” Isaac asked.

“He’s tired.” Lydia said.

“Among other things.” Jackson mocked.

“How was Portland?” Scott asked.

“Fine.” Stiles said.

“Well what was the college like?”

“Nice.”

“Stiles?”

“Why is it that no one decided to tell me that this she-wolf came raining down on the whole damn parade?” Stiles said, his head snapping up quickly – which he regretted instantly.

Allison and Erica sat down at that moment and exchanged glances. “Maybe we should have picked a different table.” Allison said.

“Look _I_ wanted to tell you but Derek―” Scott started.

“Yeah I know I heard the story from him earlier and yeah he put all the blame on himself but seriously, am I really that useless as the token human here?” He asked.

“Excuse me, there are two other humans here and I wasn’t involved in the whole thing either.” Lydia said with a shrug.

“Oh come on, you might not have been there but I have heard like three people talk about this ‘super awesome loft party man’ already and no one can organise a bash better than you can. Why does my head hurt so much?” Stiles squinted in the light.

“Are you really _that_ pissed about it?” Erica asked.

“Yes!” Stiles groaned. “Don’t worry though, I’ll be over it after I get a good night sleep and find a way to make Derek apologise by means of―”

“Okay, I’m going to be the one to shut you the fuck up before you make this worse.” Jackson said through a mouthful of sandwich.

“So basically you’re just bitching?” Isaac asked.

“And why was I the last one to find out about this party? I had to hear from freaking _Greenberg_ , seriously, that’s lame, you could have at least told me that bit.”

“Didn’t Derek tell you?” Scott asked.

“Maybe, I don’t know… shut up, I’m too tired for this.” He whined and dropped his head back down onto his arms again.

Allison shook her head and Lydia let out a short giggle.

“Hey, where’s Boyd?” Isaac said.

Erica scoffed. “He needed some time alone with his thoughts. He had a rough night.”

“Did you have a rough night with Aiden? That why you’re so cranky?” Jackson asked with a smirk.

Erica looked up with a firm glare on her face. “Bite me Jackson.” She said before getting up and shoving her lunch tray into the middle of the table and storming off.

Allison kicked him under the table. “Hey, what was that for?”

“Clearly she doesn’t want to talk about it.” Allison said.

“Hey, she was the one who told everyone about it so she needs to suck it up and deal with the fact that I am going to give her crap about it.” He shrugged.

Allison rolled her eyes but didn’t protest anymore.

“I seriously missed some stuff didn’t I?” Stiles mumbled into his arm.

“Probably more than we can explain dude.” Scott said.

 

Boyd walked along the corridors, following her scent and knowing that she was trying to outrun him. He just wanted to talk to her, after last night he just had to find out what was going on. She had been so cryptic.

He locked onto her trail and quickened his pace so that he could corner her by her biology classroom. She avoided his eyes and backed herself up against the wall as he closed in and soon enough he was only inches from her.

“Daisy―”

“Vernon, please don’t.” She said.

“I need you to explain it, please, I just don’t understand what you meant when you―”

“I meant it exactly the way it sounded. Vernon we can't do this anymore.” She said, her eyes betraying something more than her words were offering.

Boyd reached his hand out to take hers but she pulled it back, her eyes almost full of fright as they glassed up and looked over his shoulder. “Just explain it to me.”

“Please, don’t ask me to tell you anything more.” She whispered.

He just couldn’t understand it, days before she had been so different and free, now it was like she physically couldn’t bring herself to tell him.

“There a problem here?” An arrogant voice broke Boyd out of his trance and he felt his eyes give that flash of gold before he looked up to see Aiden leering at the two of them.

“Aiden, don’t.” Daisy said in a voice more forceful than either of them had heard from her.

“No problem.” Boyd said through gritted teeth, turning to square his chest with Aiden.

“I heard about this little party you’re having this weekend, seems like you already know the way to get my brother into something and I suppose you were here trying to… entice Daisy?” He said with a perpetual smirk.

“Aiden it’s nothing, let’s go.” Daisy said again.

“Well I didn’t expect you to be the one running away scared but if the shoe fits then I guess you’ll be wearing it.” Boyd growled.

Aiden’s nostrils flared. “Well I’ll consider that a formal invite then. Someone has to make sure Daisy keeps out of trouble.” He said with a glance in her direction.

She rolled her eyes and gave Boyd a desperate look before shoving past the both of them and off down the hall.

“You better keep your eyes open.” Aiden said before turning on his heel to follow her.

“You better keep your loud mouth shut.” Boyd growled, staring after them.

Neither of them looked back.

He let out a sigh. That was not how he wanted that conversation to go.

He thought back to the night before, trying to find any reason for Daisy to say the things she did but he had nothing.

 

_Boyd walked into the forest, between the trees and along the usual path to meet with her. He could smell her already, her sweet and floral scent filling the air and leading him to the exact point that she stood._

_When he reached the clearing he saw her. She stood with her back to him, her bare arms folded over her chest, perhaps to shelter from the cold as she still wore just a light summer dress. The wind passed over her as if she were a part of the forest, letting her blonde locks whip around her face with such ease._

_“Sorry I’m late.” He said with a smile, walking over to her._

_As she turned to face him he saw that her eyes were glassy and red, a tragic wreck under the moonlight._

_“Daisy? Daisy what’s wrong?” He asked, walking over to her and cupping her cheeks with his hands._

_Her own small palms clutched at his face, pulling him in for a fraught kiss before she pulled back and shook her head._

_“Vernon…” She whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek._

_“Daisy, I’m here.” He said. “What’s wrong?”_

_She pulled herself out of his grip, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath to compose herself. She turned away, looking back out over the lake and shaking her head. Boyd just waited, waited for what could possibly come out of her parched lips._

_“All I ever wanted…” she began, her voice shaky. “Was for you to trust me.” She said._

_“You know I trust you Daisy.” He said, knowing that it was truer than he intended._

_“Well that’s just the thing… I’m not sure that you can anymore.” She said, firming up her gaze._

_“Daisy… what do you―”_

_“I have to go.” She said, taking quick steps to pass him._

_“Wait, what are you talking about?” He called, following her into the tree line._

_“Just let me go Vernon! Please, I don’t want to do this!” She turned back for a moment before breaking into a run and leaving him with nothing but the howl of the wind to answer his questions._

 

* * *

 

Stiles eventually forgave Derek for keeping him in the dark about the Katherine situation. Of course it took a lot of grovelling but grovelling for Stiles involved things that he had already intended to do with him so it didn’t hurt his pride too much.

With the confirmation from Boyd that Aiden and Ethan were definitely coming to the party they all knew that they had to be on high alert for an appearance from Katherine. On Friday night half of them were meeting up at the loft before everything began, the others were showing up later on, trying to make it look less like a trap.

Peter was of course banned from attending, and not only were they keeping an eye out for that rogue alpha but they were also trying to keep the uncle from hell out of there.

“So we’re going to take turns watching the _outside_ of the loft?” Jackson asked, leaning on the bench with the sleeves of his expensive shirt rolled up and his arms crossed.

“Relax party-boy, I’ll do most of that. The last thing I want is to be stuck in here all night with the rest of you.” Derek said.

“Well can I take an early shift so I can start drinking after that?” Jackson asked.

Derek just glared over at Isaac. “Sounded like a good idea to have a party, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s too late to complain now.” Isaac said.

“I take it you don’t need me, I mean I wasn’t here for the planning of the event so―”

“Stiles, shut up.” Derek said. “If anything looks suspicious, I hear about it instantly.”

They all gave nods and slight eye rolls as Derek headed upstairs for the last time before people started invading his space.

“I’m just going to make sure he’s okay.” Stiles said.

“Seriously? What could be wrong with him? Isn’t that just his regular behaviour?” Jackson said.

Stiles shook his head and followed him up, opening the door to his bedroom to see him sitting on the side of his bed. “Hey, you sure you want to go through with this tonight?” He asked softly.

Derek just looked up at him. “I don’t want any teenagers leaving used condoms behind in my bed.” He said.

Stiles chuckled and sat down beside him. “Oh come on Derek, they’ll probably be too drunk to use protection anyway.”

“ _Stiles_.”

“Derek.”

“You know I only kept everything from you so you could enjoy your weekend.” He said.

“Hey…” Stiles said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. “I know, I was just being a little bit of a drama queen. You were being a little bit of a martyr though.” He smiled.

“Oh was I?” Derek said, twisting his arm around to take him by the waist.

“You know, not wanting me to be away but wanting me to stay there for my own good.” He teased.

“I want you to pick the college you want, based on your observations from as many places as possible.” Derek said.

“That’s some big words there Derek. Can’t you just say I love you, I want you to be happy, like a normal boyfriend?”

“Stiles don’t―” He sighed and turned away. “Can you just make sure you make the choice for you? Don’t worry about what I say.”

“So… in the future when you get angry at me for wanting to check out another college that’s out of state I should just refer you back to this conversation?” Stiles asked.

“Yes, if you think it would help.”

“Well maybe next time you could come with me―”

“I’m not going out of state to look at colleges with you.” Derek said flatly, refusing to even put it on the table as an option.

Stiles bit down on his lip and nodded a little. “I guess you’re not that much of a martyr then.” He mumbled.

“We can talk about this later.” Derek said, pulling his body away and leaning back on the base of his hands.

“Can we?” Stiles asked? “Or is this one of those things that we’ll forget tomorrow morning?”

Derek looked up and straight into his eyes, not expecting the sharpness to his tone. He didn’t really have an answer for him though; he didn’t really know it himself.

“Uh, I don’t mean to intrude or anything, but the DJ wants to know where to set up.” Jackson said poking his head through the door awkwardly.

“DJ?” Derek asked.

“If anyone left you to plan this thing it would be catastrophic. So yeah, DJ.” He smirked and Derek rolled his eyes, getting up to follow him downstairs without a look back.

Stiles sighed and flopped back down on the bed.

“You alright?” He looked up moments later to see Isaac in the doorway looking over at him.

“Yeah Isaac I’m fine. I’m guessing you heard most of that anyway so don’t hold back. Come out with whatever you’ve got to say.” Stiles said, not bothering to even move into a sitting position.

Isaac shrugged. “It’s not my relationship, what do I care?”

Stiles scoffed a little before letting out a long sigh. “Thanks.”

“Though I do have one question…”

Stiles sat up and stared over at him. “I knew there’d be something.”

“Why are there still good sheets on your bed? I mean seriously, I covered my bed in those ten dollar sheets that stain just looking at them. I don’t want to have to deal with sleeping where a stranger’s had their junk.”

Stiles laughed and shook his head. “Well, yeah, that definitely made me feel better. What’s up with the scarf?” He raised an eyebrow at Isaac’s choice of large grey scarf hanging loosely from his neck.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, it’s just… why?”

“Okay do you want me to start talking about your relationship? I’ll do it you know.” Isaac said.

“Maybe you should focus on your own relationship. Is your friend Cassie still coming tonight?” He asked.

“As far as I know, why? Has Scott said something to you?”

“Oh he’s said plenty, just none of it to me, most of it while I was in the same general area and happened to be within earshot. That boy is stupid jealous man.” Stiles grinned as if it was amusing to him.

“It worries me that I might have been that jealous of Allison when me and Scott were first starting up.” Isaac said.

Stiles grinned. “Dude, you were worse.”

“Yeah I was afraid of that.”

“Well come on then, help me get these sheets off.” Stiles said jumping off the bed.

“So that they can soil your mattress? Don’t bother dude.” Isaac said, smiling as if it amused him.

“Why are we even doing this?” Stiles complained.

“To figure all this shit out, also to drink and have fun and basically run riot.” Isaac said, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking about as suave as Jackson.

Stiles nodded. “Good enough for me.”

 

In less than two hours the loft was full of hormonally rampant teens and Derek was outside watching them all file in while keeping his senses trained on the rest of their surroundings. He didn’t want to miss anything.

He had climbed up to the roof, it gave him a full three-sixty view of the space around the loft. Scott saw him when he showed up, so did Boyd. He thought Erica might have seen him by the tick in her jaw but she didn’t look up. He didn’t dwell too much on it, he knew she was almost always angry with him about one thing or another.

He liked being outside and away from all the noise, but he was probably the only one.

Inside the place was like a live wire.

Everything was moving, alive and thriving with vivacity. People were absolutely everywhere and if Derek could see it he would cringe to within an inch of his life.

Stiles was sitting up on the kitchen bench with a beer in his hand while Scott leant up against the cupboard door. Jackson and Lydia were standing next to them, his eyes wandering around the place waiting for Danny to show up with Ethan.

“Do you ever think it would be easier to just… tell him?” Stiles shouted over the deafening music.

Jackson’s head snapped over to him. “Do you ever think that maybe you can pick a sexual orientation and _stop_ looking down my girlfriend’s dress?”

Lydia rolled her eyes but she seemed not to be worried at all and possibly even flattered by the whole sentiment. Scott just looked from one to the other with an amused expression on his face.

“Okay, to start with, no, I refuse to be classed into parameters defined by someone else when that person clearly has no idea about human desire or emotional attachments, and two, I wouldn’t have to check out your girlfriend if you took two seconds out of your ‘searching for your boyfriend’ time to do it yourself.” They all looked up at him and knew that he had already had too much to drink.

“So much for the notion of losing brain cells with the more alcohol one drinks.” Lydia said.

“I just have a problem with keeping my smart-ass quiet when I drink.” Stiles smiled. “By the way, Danny just walked in.” He said, pointing to him as he walked through the crowd and waving over at him overenthusiastically.

He gave the group of them a nod and walked over, hand in hand with Ethan. Jackson’s entire body stiffened up and Lydia stepped back from him to stand near Stiles.

“Where the hell did you find this place, it’s amazing.” Ethan said, a smile on his lips that played the part of sweet, carefree boyfriend very well.

“It’s his boyfriend’s place. The real question is how did you get him to agree to have a party here?” Danny asked, smiling over at Stiles with his perfectly white teeth.

“It involved a lot of time on my knees.” Stiles said and Scott closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

“I think we need to cut you off.” Jackson said, no element of playfulness in his voice.

“Hey, chill out, okay?” Scott said, eyeing Ethan for a moment.

There were a handful of cold glances being distributed and Danny started to wonder what was going on. “Is everything okay?” He asked.

“I was just about to ask Ethan if his brother came with him tonight.” Jackson said, not taking his eyes off Ethan.

“Oh no, not with me. He’s bringing Daisy along later.” Ethan said.

There was more static on the line and Danny looked from Ethan to the others with confusion. “I think we need to get a drink or two into you. Come on.” Danny said, nodding to the direction of the drink coolers in the corner.

“Wait up,” Scott said, reaching around behind Stiles for the bottle of whiskey that they had been sharing between the pack. “Ethan?” He offered.

“And don’t let Danny drink that stuff, he’s easy enough without it.” Jackson smirked and Danny shook his head before punching him in the arm.

“You’ll never know.” He said. “Besides, I’m not much of a whiskey drinker anyway.”

Stiles snorted. “Not from what I saw last time.” He said.

“Okay, that’s enough for you.” Lydia said, taking the beer bottle from his hand, he didn’t protest.

Ethan looked distrustful of them offering him alone some of their private stash. Jackson just rolled his eyes and poured some more into his cup and a fresh one for Ethan, taking a sip and smiling derisively.

“It’s not going to poison you.” He said quietly so that Danny couldn’t hear.

Ethan scoffed. “No way in hell I’m going to take that one off the bat.” He said, taking a sip now that the possible threat was neutralised.

“I’m going to see if Allison is here, and let’s hope she didn’t stash her crossbow…” Lydia said, walking away from them and disappearing into the sea of people.

“I’m going to go talk to Derek.” Jackson said. “If I take watch now I can save room later for more of this.” He said as he put the bottle back on the counter top.

As he walked away Erica stormed past him, not really caring who her shoulders clashed with on the way.

“That Derek’s stash?” She said, pointing to the bottle that Jackson had just had his hands on.

“Uh… yeah, why are you―” Scott began but she already had her lips around the bottle and was gulping down way too much in one go. “Whoa… you okay?”

She put the bottle back on the counter and pulled a face. “Never better.”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that drinking doesn’t solve all problems?” Allison said, walking over to them and eyeing Erica with the slightest bit of reverence.

“Lydia was just looking for you.” Scott said.

“We’ll never find each other in this mess.” She said.

They stopped for a moment to observe the party, locking their eyes a few times on Ethan who was wrapped up in Danny. It was hard to see him posing any threat but they weren’t taking any chances.

“You don’t happen to have a crossbow on you, do you?” Stiles asked her with a smile.

She grinned and let out a small chuckle but she didn’t actually answer the question.

“Who’s that with Isaac?” Erica said, looking over to a space between the crowds of people to where he was standing.

Scott’s jaw clenched and Stiles smiled. “That’s his rather beautiful friend Cassie.” He said, causing Scott to shoot a fiery glare his way.

Isaac saw them and put his hand on the small of Cassie’s back to guide her towards the others, her blue eyes standing out against her pale skin and tight black dress.

“Wow, she is pretty.” Erica mumbled, folding her arms over her ample chest.

“Hey guys, Erica, Allison, meet Cassie. We knew each other back when she lived in Beacon Hills.” Isaac said.

“Cassie Calhoun, nice to meet you.” She said with a smile.

“It’s just Erica.” She said with a forced smile.

“Allison, Argent.” Allison held out her hand for Cassie to shake and she took it.

“Argent, is that French?” She asked.

“Uh… yeah, yeah it is.” She smiled, the dimples in her cheeks showing up willingly.

“Sorry, I – that must have seemed a little weird. I’m kind of obsessed with the language and the country.” Cassie shrugged with an ‘I’m sorry’ face on.

“Oh, no that’s okay, do you speak it?” Allison asked.

“ _Mais bien sûr_.” Cassie said with a smile.

“ _Bon_ _, j'ai manqué d'avoir quelqu'un pour parler comme cela avec_.” Allison grinned.

“ _Eh bien_ _je suppose que nous pouvons avoir nos propres conversations privées sans méandres oreilles_.” Cassie said with a wink.

“I like her already.” Allison said. “Anyway, I had better find Lydia before she does something she’ll regret. It was nice to meet you.” She said, giving them all a smile as she left.

“I didn’t know that you spoke French Miss Good First Impressions.” Isaac smiled.

“Took a class.” She said, nudging him with her hip.

Erica and Stiles exchanged amused looks while Scott smiled through his gritted teeth.

“So I heard you were studying at Denver?” Erica said. “You want a drink?”

“God yes, and right in there at UD Colorado, yeah.” Cassie said, holding out a glass as Erica poured her a drink.

They launched into a great big conversation about college and classes and frat parties, and every time Isaac looked from Scott back to Cassie, Stiles could see him seething.

“Dude, green is not the best colour on you.” Stiles whispered in his ear and Scott rolled his eyes up at him.

Erica and Cassie seemed to get along ridiculously well. Erica almost looked like she was having a good time and Stiles would have believed it if he didn’t know better. He didn’t say anything, partly because he was too tipsy to say anything worthwhile but mostly because he had no idea what the problem was anyway.

“No you should!” Cassie said, tapping Erica lightly on the arm. “You should all come up to Denver for the weekend to check out the campus. Pretty sure I already told _you_ to.” She pointed to Stiles.

“Well I’m in, it’s closer than Portland which is good freaking news.” He said.

“Isaac, Scott, come on, it’ll be fun and neither of you know what you’re doing for college yet.” Cassie said.

“I don’t know, I don’t really want to leave the state for college anyway. I mean you guys could still go.” Scott said.

“Oh come on, it could be really fun.” Isaac said, nuzzling into Scott’s neck.

“Uh, I think I’ll have to pass, but I bet Erica has nothing else planned.” He said.

“Sure, because I would never have anything planned.” She said sarcastically.

“Maybe she had plans with Aiden.” Isaac said with a chuckle.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah, that must be it.” She turned to give Cassie a smile. “It was nice meeting you.” She said before walking out of the kitchen with a shake of her hips.

“Is she okay?” Cassie asked.

“Don’t ask.” Stiles said.

“So… are we doing this? Next weekend, come on, college road trip.” She said.

“Well I’m totally in, so long as Derek doesn’t decide to chuck a fit.” Stiles rolled his eyes.

Isaac looked to Scott who gave him an approving nod.

“Well alright!” She put her hand up and Stiles gave her a high five, followed by Isaac and then – reluctantly – Scott.

“Speaking of Derek, I’m going to go and make sure he’s not freezing to death.” Stiles said and Scott slapped him in the chest. “Oof, internally, internally freezing to death because he’s an emotional cripple.” He slid off the counter and Scott took him by the arm to make sure he was okay to walk before they headed off to make their way to the roof.

“Sorry about that.” Isaac said with a light laugh.

“Totally fine, who’s this Derek guy?” She asked.

Isaac shrugged, “Derek Hale, Stiles’ boyfriend. He’s the one who owns this place.” He took another sip of his drink and looked around, his eyes catching Aiden walking in with Daisy by his side.

“Did you say Hale?” He heard Cassie ask.

“Uh… yeah, why?” It was only now that he thought it might not have been a good idea to do that.

“Uh… nothing.” She said, taking another drink.

“Cass?”

She rolled her eyes and looked up at him a little guiltily. “Well, I totally didn’t know that you knew him so well, and if I did I probably wouldn’t have looked through the file of that fire quite so hard. It’s just that… arson isn’t really a thing here in Beacon Hills so it sort of sticks out. I mean you haven’t read the case but it is really fascinating, and then there’s the whole thing about his sister surviving only to get killed literally like the day she got back into town. Do you think he would want to talk about the whole thing?” She looked up hopefully and Isaac smiled.

“You heard what Stiles said, he’s an emotional cripple, and that’s coming from his boyfriend.” He said. “I think it would probably be best if we just keep this between us.”

She nodded. “Hey, worth a shot isn’t it? Do you know any other people with interesting backgrounds that might be willing to talk to me?” She grinned.

“You are way too into your whole study thing, did you know that? Besides, I don’t really know him all that well.” He shrugged.

Not that well at all, apart from being his beta, living in his house and spending his spare time hanging out with him. They were practically strangers as far as anyone outside the pack needed to know, they all knew it was safer that way.

“So how the hell did he and Stiles meet? I mean there’s got to be some big age difference there right?” She asked.

“Well… they were uh, trespassing on his territory― land, on the private property that his house used to be on.”

“They?”

“Him and Scott, I don’t really know all the details, just that at some point later on Stiles’ dad arrested him and Stiles ended up housing him as a fugitive.” He smiled.

“That is quite the love story right there.” She smiled. “Shit, that sounds like an amazing story.” She seemed to sigh a little.

“Is Cal coming tonight?” Isaac asked.

She looked up with a wry smile. “Cal. I’d almost forgotten about him.”

“Forgetting about your boyfriend, that’s probably the last thing he wants to hear.”

“Cal and I have… an agreed upon relationship. We work together, we work well together. If there’s one thing that can ruin that, it’s a relationship. I mean it’s always going to end up difficult when it’s just the two of us so much, so we agree that we are free to do whatever – or whoever – we like and it won't affect either of us. We present ourselves as a couple but mostly it’s just about having someone there, you know?” She said.

“And you can handle having a relationship like that?” He asked.

She scoffed. “Cal’s nice, but I don’t love him and I’m not going to start anytime soon. Love complicates things.” She looked up at him with a warm smile which he shot right back.

He didn’t feel Scott’s eyes burning into the back of his skull.

 

Erica needed to get away from the choking air of the party downstairs. Jackson was keeping an obviously close eye on Ethan and she had nothing to do as of yet so she walked up the spiral staircase, trying to drown out some of the noise but werewolf hearing was not so great when it came to trying to avoid things.

She sighed heavily as she slowly paced, listening to the click-clack of her shoes on the wood floor and trying to shut her mind off for just five minutes. Five, that’s all she wanted.

“Now what is a girl like you doing all alone up here?” The voice made her jaw clench and her whole body stiffen as she turned around to face him.

Aiden was staring at her from the landing with his arms crossed over his chest and an arrogant smirk firmly plastered on his lips.

“Trying to get away from jack-holes like you.” She said with a flick of her eyebrows.

“So, what was the purpose of this little charade? Don’t tell me you just threw a party for the hell of it.” He said.

“Can’t a girl just want to have fun?” She asked.

He huffed out a laugh. “Not a girl like you.”

“Oh and what exactly is a girl like me because I would _love_ to know your thoughts on that?” She said, stepping closer and narrowing her eyes at him.

“Whoa, whoa, easy Blondie, it is a party after all.” He said, still smirking.

She didn’t know what happened in that moment. She didn’t know whether it was the fact that she had no purpose here or whether it was because it was what people already expected of her, she just knew that something inside her gave in.

“You’re right, it is a party. You busy?” She asked flatly.

“Well that depends.”

“You want to have some fun or do you want to be the jack-hole _mouthing_ off in the corner all night?” She said.

“What did you have in mind?”

She took a few steps back and kicked the door to Isaac’s room open, her arms still folded and an eyebrow pointing toward the sky. Aiden shrugged and slowly walked past her and into the empty room before Erica closed the door behind them.

 

Scott was seething. He watched the way Cassie looked at Isaac as they talked, the way her hand would occasionally brush his arm when they laughed or the way she would keen over and touch his shoulder with her forehead when he said something particularly funny.

 _It couldn’t possibly be_ that _funny_ , Scott thought to himself. They didn’t look like they were ever going to separate and at that point it seemed like it would be Scott’s knuckles to separate first from squeezing them too tight.

He cursed himself for feeling so stupidly jealous but that part of him consumed with it told him that it was more than just petty jealousy, that there was actually something to worry about.

He had taken Stiles up to the roof to see Derek but he was down by the elevator entrance, funny that none of them had even seen him head in that direction. He didn’t seem too interested in hanging out with Stiles either. Scott thought it was mainly due the fact that he would let his guard down but the looks on their faces said there was probably something more to it. He didn’t really want to get involved.

After ten minutes of watching Cassie and Isaac though, he was going to get involved. He stalked over to them and they both turned to face him with a smile.

“Hello again Scott, did Stiles find his emotionally-crippled former-fugitive boyfriend?” Cassie asked and Isaac held back a laugh.

“Yeah, he did. Isaac can I talk to you for a minute?” He asked.

“Uh sure… you going to be okay?” He asked Cassie.

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.” She winked. “Go, have fun.”

Isaac went to take Scott’s hand but Scott was already gripping his arms tightly and dragging him to another corner of the party.

“Ouch! Scott… what the hell?” Isaac said as his fingers dug into his skin.

“Don’t you see what’s going on here?” Scott said.

“I see that you’re manhandling me for no apparent reason!”

“She is completely all over you, how are you not seeing that?” Scott hissed.

“She is my oldest friend Scott, she was kind of my first friend since I was a kid.” Isaac said.

“Can’t you smell the fucking arousal on her skin? Seriously, the whole place stinks of it.” Scott growled.

“She’s been drinking, everyone here probably smells exactly the same you’re just noticing it on her because you’re too blinded by jealousy to see anything else!” Isaac said.

“I am not blinded by jealousy!”

“You are! If you weren’t you’d be able to see that the only person here that has even crossed my mind tonight, in the last few _months_ , is you Scott. How many times do I have to tell you that?” He said, leaning in to grab Scott’s shoulders.

He shook his head and rubbed his face with his hand, feeling Isaac’s hand press against his hip and force him back painfully into the wall. “Isaac―”

“Do I have to prove it to you? Huh? That all I want is you?” He asked, drilling his eyes straight into Scott’s.

He stared back up at him with a fierce look, never breaking their stare as he reached out and pulled Isaac into him by his belt. Isaac braced one of his hands against the wall and stared down at Scott hungrily, his eyes flashing golden.

“Careful.” Scott said quietly.

“I don’t think that’s going to work for me.” He growled, taking a handful of Scott’s shirt in his hands and began dragging him away.

They pushed through people in the crowd and made it to the stairs, climbing them quickly with Scott still being dragged behind him. Instead of heading for his bedroom Isaac pulled Scott into the bathroom and threw him in shutting the door behind them and locking it.

Once they had their little fortress of solitude they launched at one another, a clash of teeth and tongues and frantic pawing at one another as they raced to get their clothes off. Isaac trailed his hands slowly down Scott’s bare chest, hooking his fingers in his loosened jeans and forcing his lips to leave his mouth so that he could pull them down around his ankles and kiss him just under his hip bone.

Scott let out a breathy sound and a whimper as Isaac grazed his teeth against the muscles of his stomach. Taking hold of Scott’s boxers he pulled his arms apart as wide as they would go, ripping the cotton apart and freeing Scott’s aching cock.

He didn’t wait to wrap his mouth around it, taking all of it in with one long wet mouthful. Scott’s knees buckled under him and his hand raced to the curly mop of hair on his head.

“ _Holy god_ …” Scott moaned as Isaac pulled his hips back and forward to meet his mouth.

Isaac pulled back with a loud pop, “No, say _my_ name.” He growled, licking a stripe from the base of Scott’s cock until he was swirling his tongue around the tip.

“Fuck― _Isaac_!” Scott’s voice croaked with the way his tongue was tantalising and teasing him.

The music from downstairs travelled all the way up to them, the beat pounding in their ears and making every wave of pleasure that rushed through Scott’s body feel more like jolts of pure energy.

Isaac pulled back, kneeling up and rummaging through one of the drawers to find a condom. As he stood he pressed his body into Scott’s and kissed him again, licking at his lips and mouthing his way down over his neck, lightly scratching him with his teeth.

Scott’s fumbling hands pulled down Isaac’s jeans and he tore open the packet and began to roll it down over himself, the touch on his own cock making him groan slightly.

“Is there any―” He started.

“Don’t… just do it, just do me okay? I can take it.” He panted and Isaac bit down on his lip as he grabbed Scott’s thighs and lifted him up so that he was pinned between him and the cold tiled wall.

“You know I’m not thinking about anyone else right now? It’s all you Scott.” He breathed into his ear.

Scott just growled back, shifting his body down slightly so that he was rubbing his entrance against the hot tip of Isaac’s dick. Isaac let out a stifled groan before beginning to push himself slowly inside.

His body resisted him at first and Scott’s face bore a grimace of pain until he was able to open him up and fit himself perfectly inside. He started with slow gentle thrusts but Scott assured him that if he didn’t pick up the pace he was going to have to make him. He adjusted his hands on Scott’s hips to pull him down into each thrust, making him let out a loud yelp each time, his voice calming down to whisper Isaac’s name each time he hit that perfect spot.

By the time they were both close to climax they were sure someone had heard them and there was most definitely some broken things in that bathroom but neither of them cared as they came undone almost in unison, pulling apart only so they could slump to the floor in a mess of sweat and heavy breathing.

“Okay… maybe I don’t mind so much if you’re jealous…” Isaac panted with a laugh.

“I only have one thing to complain about after that.” Scott said.

“Yeah, sorry if it hurt to start―”

“Not that – _fuck_ – the whole thing was amazing, but did you have to completely shred my boxers?” Isaac let out a laugh and leant over to kiss him.

“Yeah, I sort of did. You make me crazy did you know that?” He smiled.

“Well if it wasn’t already obvious, same goes for you.” Scott said.

“Come on, we better get back out there before Derek finds us and absolutely slaughters us for taking a moment to ourselves.” Isaac said, standing up on shaky legs and helping Scott to his feet.

The two of them got dressed, Scott minus his underpants, and tried to look a little less wrecked as they slowly opened the bathroom door with grins on their faces. Just as they were shutting the door behind them the door to Isaac’s room opened and Erica stood in its frame, pausing when she saw the two of them standing there.

She looked almost ashamed, disappointed that they had seen her with her hair a mess and a smudge of lipstick on the corner of her mouth.

They were about to question her when Aiden walked past her, adjusting his jeans as he did so and giving the two of them a smug grin before winking at Erica and heading back downstairs. She looked away from their eyes as they gave her an incredulous stare.

“You know I almost didn’t believe it when you told us.” Isaac said.

“Just be thankful you changed the sheets.” Scott muttered.

Erica breathed in deeply and looked up, shaking her head before walking straight past them and down the stairs. She didn’t stop to look for Boyd like she was planning to; she didn’t even stop to talk to Stiles who was calling her over. Instead she headed for the fire stairs to walk down to the ground floor to take over from Derek on the watch.

He saw her walking over purposefully and gave her a strange look.

“I’ve got this for a while. Go inside and see your drunken boyfriend.” She said.

He walked past her slowly without a word and she avoided his gaze too, not wanting to see or hear from anyone.

“You smell like him you know.” He said.

“Yeah I got it, can I get the lecture later please?” She asked, trying to avoid a crack in her voice.

“Erica,” Derek said, making her turn to look at him.

“What?”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing.” He said before turning towards the door and disappearing in the elevator to head upstairs, probably to Stiles like she suggested.

She sighed, looking around and began walking around the perimeter under the guise of surveillance. Really she was just looking for an excuse to avoid the sound of the laughter and bass and everyone’s judgemental eyes.

Her heels clicked on the pavement as she did one lap of the place and then another. On her third lap she heard something in the distance, something coming closer until she could smell it, feel the presence of it not far behind her.

She stopped in her tracks and let out a heavy breath as her heart pounded faster.

 “Well, well, if it isn’t just the girl I was looking for.” The cool voice said, cutting through the wind.

Erica turned slowly with her fists clenched and a look on her face that she hoped was stronger than she felt on the inside.

“Hello Erica.”

She gave her one quick look up and down, “Katherine.”


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Katherine smiled wryly. “So you do know who I am.”

“Yes. I’ve heard enough about you to recognise you.” Erica said, holding her head up to hide her nervous energy.

“Well then I suppose we can skip our introductions.”

“Why are you here?” Erica asked.

“I already told you that, I came to see you.” Katherine said.

“I don’t believe that.”

“Did I stutter?” She said harshly. “Did my heart beat skip?” Erica shook her head. “No, I didn’t think so. Now I know you’re not going to run screaming to Derek that I'm here, in fact I’d wager you don’t fancy going inside for at least a little while longer yet.”

“And why would you bet on that?”

“Where is the dignity in running? Do I frighten you?” Katherine said with a smile.         

“What do you want?” Erica said, frozen in place and determined to stay strong.

Katherine tilted her head to the side. “How many times do I have to tell you that I just want to talk before you take my word for it?

Erica looked her up and down. “Why?” She asked.

Katherine smiled. “What possible reason do _you_ think I could have for it? I can give you one; you’re the weak link, the easy target, the _damsel_ in distress.” Erica stiffened, breathing slowly out through her nose to keep herself calm. “Is that the answer you’d give me? Or is that the answer your pack would come to?” Erica still said nothing, her words slowly trickling in and milling around in her mind. “Well it’s not the answer _I_ would give.”

“No?” Erica asked. “It seems like a good reason. Cut Achilles’ heel and you’ve found a way to take down the rest of the man.”

Katherine’s lips were still smiling and her eyes shone in the latent moonlight. “It would be if I was trying to dismantle Derek and the rest of them, but that’s not my intention.”

“So what is your intention or are we going to skirt around this topic for the rest of the night?” She said.

“Now you see, that is exactly why you are no weak link. I’ve been watching you Erica and I know for a fact that weak is not what you are. You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for but maybe that’s because others are keeping you from realising your full potential.”

“How would you know? You don’t know me.”

“A person can learn just as much from watching someone as they can from talking to them and you, my dear Erica, seem a little underappreciated. Tell me how often are you taken seriously? Given credit for the things that you have gotten right rather than chastised for what you’ve done wrong?” Erica met her eyes and Katherine nodded. “I only have two rules in my pack and they’re very simple; when I ask for something it is undisputed and trust me, I don’t make demands without a good reason. The second is that as a pack we’re open with one another, no secrets, and that we’re loyal to each other and to me. As long as those rules are followed there’s no blame, no guilt, no shaming one another. I don’t care who you’re sleeping with or dating just so long as I know about it.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Erica whispered.

“All I’m doing is giving you something to think about. I’m sure everyone in your pack knows about your friends Boyd and my Daisy.” Erica turned her eyes away and clenched her jaw. “No? And how would they feel about it if they were to find out?”

“You already know the answer to that, don’t you?”

“No blame, no guilt, no shaming.” She repeated before turning around and beginning to walk the other way, back into the darkness of the streets. “You’ll know how to find me if you want to talk about this a little more.” She said before she was gone, her scent lingering a moment before dissipating into the cool air of the night.

Erica let out a shaky breath, her lips parted with the shock of it all. She fumbled around in her pocket for her phone and entered the number quickly, holding the phone up to her ear. She waited a few rings before her call was answered.

“It’s me, I need you to get yourself outside, _now_. I’ve got some stuff to tell you.”

 

* * *

 

Derek headed inside after Erica took over for him and tried to avoid all the sweaty people. A few girls pawed at him as he passed but he shrugged them off and headed to the kitchen where Stiles and Scott had taken up a permanent residence.

“Back to square one?” Derek called over the music and Stiles shrugged.

“You done being an asshole now?” Stiles replied and Derek rolled his eyes.

“Uh, do you guys want a minute alone or?” Scott asked.

“It’s fine.” Derek said. “You know I can smell Isaac _all_ over you. I thought you were keeping an eye on things.”

“Oh I’ve seen more than enough.” Derek raised an eyebrow. “Erica wasn’t lying about her and Aiden.”

“As long as she knows where he is I don’t care.” Derek said, turning to Stiles and putting his hands either side of him on the counter. “Stiles…” He said.

“What?” He said, pouting his lips.

Derek leant in and pecked his lips softly, the tip of his tongue barely brushing his top lip. He pulled back and opened his gorgeous bright eyes as wide as they would go, smiling with the side of his mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you alright?” Stiles said with a smile as he cupped Derek’s cheeks and pulled him in for another kiss.

“Not right now.” Derek said with a grin.

“Don’t be a smart ass.”

“Clearly you were a useless addition to this little affair.” He said.

“Excuse me, I have been watching everything – well, mostly – that’s been going on in here. Ethan hasn’t left Danny’s side all night, keeps whispering shit in his ear. Aiden’s apparently been with Erica which is really fucking weird by the way. And that Daisy is like a freaking shadow. She just kind of slips in and out of the crowd. I think Boyd was going to keep tabs on her properly. So I repeat, fuck you.” Stiles said, grinning up at Derek like he’d just done something really impressive.

Derek kissed him again, this time parting his lips with his tongue and causing Scott to roll his eyes and turn away.

“Okay, the two of you do that and I’ll find something productive to attend to.” He said, walking out of the kitchen and off to find someone who didn’t have their tongue down another person’s throat.

Allison was sitting on the couch next to some guy that Scott didn’t recognise. She seemed a little uncomfortable but maybe that was because the guy was completely and utterly gone – passed out and hopefully still breathing.

“Hey, you okay?” Scott asked.

“Oh yeah, no I’m fine. I’m better than this guy anyway.” She said with a laugh. “You avoiding the love nest?” She said, looking over to see Derek and Stiles talking softly with their bodies pressed together.

“Yeah, as much as I love that they’ve stopped arguing, I really don’t want to see all that. Why are you all alone?” He said, sitting down beside her.

“Because Lydia and Jackson _are_ arguing.” She rolled her eyes. “Same old stuff too, just what they’re going to do next year and how they should be spending their time together now just enjoying themselves and worry about the rest later… it’s kind of exhausting listening to them. I’d look for Erica but I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Yeah she’s on the perimeter shift.” He said.

“Derek see anything out there?”

“No, but Peter is probably hanging just out of sight, just out of our scent range. There’s not much we can do about him.” Scott rolled his eyes.

“You know I have a crossbow, I can go out and shoot a few arrows into him if you want.” She said with a devious grin.

“You’re lethal did you know that?” Scott chuckled.

Allison shrugged. “Sometimes a girl’s got to be her own hero.”

“Well you’re definitely that.” Scott smiled and Allison leaned into his shoulder for a moment.

He had to admit that he missed this; he missed her so much sometimes. He knew that it was the first love effect. He was never going to be able to forget her, no matter how many years or miles came between them. There’s just something about your first love that you can’t let go of and he couldn’t have come up with someone better to be his. Allison Argent, the girl who wasn’t afraid to be her own saviour.

In what seemed like barely a flash the two of them saw Daisy, the blonde girl from the other pack, walk past them and then slip back into the crowd.

“I see what Stiles means now, she is kind of a shadow.” Scott said.

Allison looked up and over to where she had last been and furrowed her brow just as Boyd walked over to them.

“Hard to keep tabs on someone like her, huh?” Scott said.

He nodded. “Sometimes she doesn’t mind talking to me, other times it’s like trying to catch mist; one second you’ve got it but the next it’s off somewhere else or gone completely.”

“Poetic.” Allison said.

Boyd gave her a smile and felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He fished it out to see Erica’s number on the screen. “Hello?” He said.

She spoke quickly and then hung up leaving him with a questioning look on his face.

“Is Erica outside?” He asked.

Scott nodded. “Yeah, she took over for Derek. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I think so. Sometimes she just needs to talk I think. Now’s as good a time as any.”

“It probably isn’t sitting well that me and Isaac caught her with Aiden earlier.” Scott said.

“You what?” Boyd asked, even more confused.

“Well it’s not like it’s a secret anymore.” Scott said.

“Yeah, yeah I better go see what’s up.” He said, heading off to the elevator and riding it down with about fifty questions mulling around in his mind.

What was she doing with Aiden? Is that the stuff she has to say? Is it something else completely? Could it be about Daisy? He tried to clear his mind as the elevator doors opened and he stepped outside looking around for her until he spotted her around the side and to the right.

“Erica? Erica what’s going on?” He asked, walking briskly up to her.

She stared at him for a moment, her long blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind. “Katherine was here.” She said softly.

“What? When? What did she want?” He said, his eyes flashing wide in surprise.

“Just now.”

“Well shouldn’t we wait for Derek? Has he already been out here?”

Erica rolled her eyes and took a few steps, turning her back on him with a sigh. “No, I called you first.”

Boyd’s look of shock turned into one of confusion. “Why would you do that?”

“She said some things…” Erica began, turning around to face him. “About me, and you; about her pack. We wanted to leave once remember?”

“Erica…” Boyd said, connecting the dots and almost unable to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.

“You and Daisy could be together. You know that we’re the ones who never quite fit. What’s stopping us from trying to find a place where we _do_?” She said.

Boyd thought for a moment, suspending the silence in the air between them. “You’ve been thinking about something like this for a while, haven’t you?”

She looked down; her face looked as though it was holding a great many things back, her mind clouded with them all.

“That’s what she’s here for, to find more wolves, to build her pack… if I go with her they’ll leave this place and Derek, and the others. They’ll go out looking for more and leave Beacon Hills. Daisy will be gone unless―”

“Unless I come with you.” Boyd finished her sentence and she tilted her head to the side with a sigh.

“You said it yourself, it’s more than just a one off thing. I’m not saying that I’m going to do this, I’m saying I’m thinking about it, and you should too.” Boyd put his head down and Erica took out her phone, dialling in Derek’s number. “Hey Derek, we need to talk outside.” She said and took his quick hang up to mean that he was on his way.

“What are you going to tell him?” Boyd asked, folding his arms.

“I’m going to say that she showed up, and that I called you out here too.” She said.

Boyd shook his head. “I don’t want to have to keep up a lie here Erica.”

“I did it for you.” She snapped, glaring over at him with a sadness that she couldn’t quite hide and Boyd suddenly felt guilty.

He never told them that the story about her and Aiden having a secret relationship was a lie. He knew it was, she never would have come down so hard on him if it had been true. He stood there in the room and let her bear that weight and feel the pressure and he did nothing to stop it. In that moment he felt like a coward.

They both heard footsteps approaching quickly and turned to see Derek storming over to them. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Katherine was here.” Erica said, not looking him in the eye.

His nostrils flared and he looked off into the distance. “When? What did she want?”

“To talk to me, funnily enough. And just now. I waited until she was well and truly out of my senses before I called you.” She said.

“Erica, what did she say?” Derek said, growing impatient.

“Oh not much, just some small talk and then a little tearing me down. She walked over – quickly I might add – and then tried manipulating me and then she left.” She said, sticking to as many truthful facts as she could manage.

“She tried to work through you?” Erica nodded and Derek sighed. “You can't let her in Erica. You can't let her words take hold.”

“You really think I’m that weak?” She hissed.

Derek raised an eyebrow. “I said you can't let her words take hold, I didn’t say for you to put them in my mouth.” He turned to Boyd. “Where were you?”

“She called me too, I came out right after.” He said.

Derek stared at them both as though something was off, but he convinced himself that it was something that he didn’t want to get involved in, an argument they were having. “Both of you get inside. We’ve got eyes on the rest of them, if they go quiet we’ll worry. I want someone keeping an eye on them when they leave. All three of them.”

“The girl’s pretty slippery but I think I’ve got a good idea about how she works.” Boyd said, a sentence that Erica thought he may have been formulating for a while.

Derek nodded and stepped back to let the two of them walk ahead of him and back to the loft. Boyd passed him first and then Erica with a dark look in her eye. Derek grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards him.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you but you need to stop acting like a child.” He said with a hiss of frustration.

She wrenched her arm away from him. “I get that you’re jealous of my friendship with your boyfriend, I know that’s why you can't _stand_ me.” She whispered. “Don’t pretend there’s not this coldness between us when you know it’s there.” Derek was giving her his listening look, narrowed eyes and a firm jaw, knowing that she was going to get something out whether he interjected or not. “I’m sorry that you can't accept what’s happening with me and Aiden, I'm sorry that you can't even try to open your mind to that, but I am not going to apologise for playing a part in this pack even if you think I’m a weak link. I’m not.” She said.

She gave him a long glare, their eyes locked as Derek said nothing and just let her storm off past him. There wasn’t much anyone could say to Erica when she was in a mood like this, except maybe Stiles, but Derek wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of knowing how much that fact grated him. Instead, he just followed her back into the loft, waiting for her to take the elevator alone first to avoid another confrontation.

 

 

Danny pulled Ethan away from the party at about midnight, leading him up the stairs and to the bedroom on the right, which just so happened to be Isaac’s room. He left him for a moment to use the bathroom and returned to see Ethan sitting with a smile on the bed, his shirt unbuttoned down the front.

“I have no idea what happened in there but the sink is bent and the towel rack is hanging off the wall, it’s weird.” He smiled, sitting down beside him.

“Probably guys arguing over some skank.” He grinned, eyeing Danny’s lips like all he wanted to do was taste them.

“Aren’t you glad you don’t have that problem?” He said as he leaned in even closer, his hand sliding slowly up Ethan’s thigh.

“What, right now?” He said with a chuckle as their lips met, soft and supple and moulding to one another like liquid.

Danny’s hand brushed onwards and up, his thumb gently caressing the taught muscles and circling slowly over his nipple. Ethan let out a growl as he slipped his tongue into Danny’s mouth and let himself be pushed down and pinned to the plain sheets.

“You like having power?” He stated, barely a question and Danny pulled his lips back.

“Over you? Yeah.” He grinned with a wicked glint in his eye.

“Do you ever just wish you had more of it? You ever wish you could feel strong all the time?” He asked, stroking Danny’s face as he looked up at him.

Danny shrugged. “Of course, sometimes. Then again sometimes you need to feel those moments of weakness so that you know where your strength is.”

“Well how about somewhere you belong?”

Danny’s lips brushed his again, pushing his hips down gently, making Ethan’s tongue dart out to wet his lips. “I can feel that whenever I’m with you.” He said, “So do you really feel like having one of _those_ conversations right now?”

Ethan smiled and took Danny’s ass in his hands grinding him down against him. “Nah, not really.” He grinned.

 

 

The next morning came along quickly. Erica had left the minute the last few party stragglers had disappeared out the door. No one knew whether she was going home or finding somewhere else to withdraw to and Boyd promised himself that he would try to at least talk to her in the morning.

He hadn’t been able to catch Daisy all night, he was always on her tail, always had her scent surrounding him but she wouldn’t let him find her. It was true that she was like smoke in the wind. When the night was done he crashed on the spare couch and tried to think it all through.

Jackson offered to share a taxi with Danny and Ethan despite the fact that the two wolves practically growled at one another whenever they were within spitting distance. Lydia refused the offer and plopped down on the couch in the loft with no intention of moving. Allison stayed with her, anticipating the need to vent extensively when the rest of them were in bed. She wasn’t wrong.

Scott and Isaac stumbled out of the bedroom around mid-morning after having slept on a bare mattress. Neither of them wanted to sleep on those cheap disposable sheets. They sat down and helped themselves to breakfast, waking up slowly as Derek and Stiles came walking down the stairs. Stiles had a bit of a hang-dog look which wasn’t surprising and Derek made a beeline for the two breakfast boys.

They both jumped enough to slosh their cereal about as a broken towel rack made a loud clang on the bench in front of them.

Derek gave them both a raised eyebrow as he walked over to the fridge to take the juice bottle away from Stiles’ waiting lips.

“Hey I was drinking that.” He said.

“Get a glass.”

“We can probably pay for the bathroom.” Isaac said sheepishly.

“Oh really?” Derek said.

“Or we could volunteer to help you fix it.” Scott added.

“Sure.”

Once they had all fixed themselves up enough to be fresh for the day Derek sat down the remaining few to explain about what happened with Katherine. The whole time Boyd sat the biting his tongue, wishing he could tell them all he truly knew but he had betrayed Erica’s trust once already and he wasn’t going to do it to her again. They were going to have to find about Katherine’s poaching objectives on their own, or possibly with a push but he would have to figure that one out.

The discussion was disturbed when Peter appeared with his usual arrogance. Luckily Derek had already said all he had to and so he left them to go and placate his uncle before he tried to interfere any more.

Stiles just ran his hand through his hair and sat back on the couch as he tried to process it all. “Why does it all have to be so complicated?” He said to Isaac who was sat next to him, elbows resting on his knees.

“Since when has being a werewolf been easy?” He responded.

“Well I wouldn’t know, you know, with the whole being human thing and all.” He said.

Isaac grinned and Scott’s head tilted as he admired just how gorgeous he was even in the morning, especially in the morning.

“So are you still into going to Denver next weekend? You know, for the whole college tour with Cassie.” Isaac asked and Stiles shrugged.

“I should probably say no because Derek will just get all… you know, but my dad will completely flip for the idea. It’s kind of just a toss-up really.” Stiles said.

“Well what do _you_ want to do? And I mean _you_ , not Derek or your dad.” Isaac said.

“Jesus Stiles, do something if you want to do it.” Scott said with a smile.

He bit his lip and smiled. “I think it actually sounds awesome. I really liked it in Portland, I just didn’t want Derek to think that I was leaving him behind or whatever.”

“Well I’m totally in if you want to make a road trip out of it. It’s only like… sixteen hours away. Scott, you could join us on the road.” Isaac said, giving him another killer grin.

“I thought I said last night that I’m not really into it.” He said.

“People say a lot of things that they don’t mean, especially at parties. Come on, it’ll be fun.” He said, nudging him a little with his shoe.

“Isaac…” Scott said and Stiles pursed his lips, trying to stay out of it.

“Okay, okay. I just thought that you might… well you know.”

“What, get jealous?”

“Dude, you should have seen yourself last night.” Stiles said, unable to stay out of a conversation if his life depended on it.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Trust me, I do. That god damn towel rack is proof enough.” He grumbled and Isaac let out a snort of laughter. “Shut up.”

Stiles joined in on the childish laughter and Scott just rolled his eyes.

“Alright, okay, we’ll get Erica along and see if we can convince Derek to join us, though I don’t see that happening.” Stiles said. “Every time I mention an out of state college he gets all distant and cranky.”

“Are you telling me that he’s not already like that?” Isaac asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He gets worse. He’s a big tantrum-throwing alpha.” He said. “Don’t tell him I said that.” He added as an afterthought.

“I don’t plan on it, not after we sort of broke his bathroom.” Isaac grinned. “I’ll text Cassie and sort it out, you might need to talk it over with Erica though. Boyd said that she had some kind of argument with Derek last night.”

“Well maybe she’ll want to get away from him for a while.” Scott offered.

“I’ll call her later, make sure they didn’t completely obliterate each other. I don’t know what it is about those two but they just clash.” Stiles said.

“You don’t know, really?” Isaac said.

“Seriously dude, there’s only one thing that they have in common and it’s the same thing that gets between them.” Scott said.

Stiles just rolled his eyes, knowing that they were referring to him. “Just text Cassie and figure it out. I’ll tell my dad and watch him light up like a freaking Christmas tree. Do you think Derek will notice if I disappear for the weekend? I could go and be back without him even realising.”

“Stiles, he notices when you’re gone for the night; I think he’ll notice if you’re gone for two whole days.” Isaac grinned.

He felt a little warmer inside at that, taking a moment to revel in that before going back to thinking about Katherine and college and Erica and all the other things that were playing on his mind. _This week is going to be anything but easy_ , he thought.

He had no idea just how right that would be.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Boyd spent the better part of the next day trying to talk to Erica. She wouldn’t even pick up the phone and she wasn’t home.  He concluded that she clearly wanted to be left alone.

Daisy wouldn’t talk to him either. Her phone would ring until it hit voicemail and with Erica’s words about Katherine he didn't want to try and find her. In the space of a few days he had lost all contact with the two most important people in his life.

Erica would come around soon enough, she always did. He didn’t know if she should do or not but he hoped that his luck hadn’t run dry. At least he knew where he’d wronged her though, Daisy was another story.

He couldn’t even begin to figure out the reason why she wasn’t speaking to him. He had to find out somehow, he wasn’t about to leave it that way.

By midweek Erica was speaking to him again, acting like it never happened. Instead she focussed her energy on planning the weekend in Denver with Isaac and Stiles, though she seems quite dark on Isaac and Boyd almost felt glad that it wasn’t just him.

Hopefully the weekend away from Beacon Hills would give her some solace, time to clear her head and held her come to her senses about the whole Katherine situation.

He tried to think that the whole thing was a terrible idea and that it was the last thing either of them would ever do but he couldn’t help letting some of those thoughts sneak past him. He kept them swallowed down as best he could and bit down on them painfully when he could feel those thoughts arising.

Daisy was a big part of the reason for that pull and the more she tried to convince him that they couldn’t be together the more he wanted to find out why, to see if joining their pack would change that. And if Erica was moving towards them he felt like he needed to follow her to make sure she wasn’t being lured into a trap.

They had thought about leaving before, like Erica had said. They were going to go out and join another pack, but things were different now – weren’t they?

Daisy hadn’t been in school all week and Boyd was not about to find Aiden or Ethan to ask about her. He would figure this out on his own, even if it took a whole lot longer than he wanted it to.

 

Scott sat at his desk trying to get some study done; god senior year was going to kill him. He was struggling on some math questions when he heard the door downstairs open and then close. At first he thought it was his mother getting home from work but he realised that she wouldn’t be back again until late.

It was barely a few moments before he felt the familiar scent of Isaac’s cologne and general pheromones engulf him. He sighed because he knew that he could never get much study done with Isaac around, and besides, he wasn’t supposed to be there tonight.

He spun around in his chair and waited for him to walk through the door. He heard his footsteps on the stairs and in a second he was in the doorway.

“Hey.” He said, unwrapping his scarf and hanging it on the door.

“Hey,” Scott said. “Thought we were having the night apart.”

“Derek and Stiles are having a game of verbal knife throwing. It’s really not pretty and I kind of didn’t want to intrude. You don’t mind if I crash here tonight do you?” He asked, as if it wouldn’t be okay.

“Yeah sure, of course, what are they fighting about?”

“What did I say about not wanting to intrude?” Isaac smiled.

“I know but you can at least give me the gist of it so I know not to bring it up around Stiles later.” He smiled right back.

Isaac rolled his eyes. “College, being away from each other, the pack. You know, normal Derek and Stiles arguments.”

“I don’t really know what they argue about.” Scott said.

“Yeah well be thankful that you don’t live with them, it’s all fighting and making up. And if there’s one thing worse than when ‘mom and dad’ argue… it’s when they make up.” Isaac said and Scott just let out a laugh.

“’Mom and dad’? Really?” He said.

“What? It fits doesn’t it.”

“Maybe.” Scott chuckled. “You know I can't study when you’re here.” He said.

“You’re always studying, can we maybe just have a night to hang out and forget about everyone else’s bullshit?” Isaac asked, sitting down on the bed with his cutesy little smile.

“Stop it.” Scott scolded.

“Stop what?”

“Don’t give me that look, I know what you’re doing.” His lips turned into a smile.

“I’m not doing anything.” He said, looking up from under his eyelashes with a smirk on his pretty mouth.

“Don’t make me come over there.” Scott said.

Isaac raised an eyebrow and kicked off his shoes. It made Scott laugh and he shook his head as he threw down his pen and walked towards him, tackling him into the bed and nipping at Isaac’s lips.

“I’ll get rid of that smile.” He growled.

“Oh yeah? Go on.” Isaac’s tongue darted out to taste Scott’s top lip.

“Do you see why I can't have you here while I study?” Scott said, sucking Isaac’s lip into his mouth and slipping a hand under his shirt.

Isaac let out a breathy sound and cupped Scott’s face with his hand and pulling his lips away from his own. “I can leave if you’re _that_ worried.” He said.

“Nah, we can cook some spaghetti and just lie around up here if you want. You’re going to be away _all_ weekend so I can study _then_.” He said, jabbing Isaac in the chest with his finger.

“Hey, hey! You said I could go!”

“I know, I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss you though.” He said with a smile “Plus I think Stiles and Erica could use some distance from his place.”

“Well you’re not wrong about that. I can't believe she and Aiden―”

“Don’t think about it. I’m pretty sure she’s just found another way to piss Derek off. You know how she loves to do that.” Scott said.

“She’s getting pretty good at it though, you’ve got to give her that.” Isaac grinned.

“True, it’s almost an art form.” They chuckled together and Scott brought his hand up to brush Isaac’s cheek. “So are you going for the fun of it or… are you sort of kind of thinking about college now?”

“I don’t really have the grades for it, besides, I don’t think four more years of school is what I need. Community college maybe. I mean, I could always be an ass and become a superstar athlete without even trying. We all know that’s what Jackson’s going to do.” He smiled.

“Yeah, after he does all of his world travelling obviously. You don’t… really feel the need to do any of that stuff either?”

“Scott, for a long time my biggest issue was whether I would survive high school, let alone whatever comes next. Plus I’ll… I’ll pretty much follow you wherever you go, you know, if you want me to anyway.” He said, his eyes flickering for a moment.

Scott smiled. “You could always move in here, we could find some community college courses that suit us while we figure it all out.” He offered.

Isaac’s cheeks flushed with a pink glow that fanned out over his nose. “Or… we could get our own place?” He said with a little smile.

“Well seeing as neither of us have jobs how do you think we’d afford that?” Scott asked with the press of his lips to the tip of Isaac’s rosy nose.

“Well I haven’t really told you yet… but when I turn eighteen that might be sort of set to change.” Isaac shrugged.

“What do you mean set to change?” Scott asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Well, everything in my dad’s name was transferred to me when he died, you know, no other family and all. So just stuff like accounts, assets, and when the house finally gets sold any profits from that will come my way too. The rule was until I turned eighteen I wouldn’t have access to it but after that… I guess it’s all mine.” He said.

“You think that’s where Derek’s money comes from?” Scott asked, being the easily distracted boy that he is.

“Maybe, I never see him work so that could be it.” Isaac said, equally as distractible.

“So… you would really want to spend that money on getting our own place?” Scott said with a little smile.

“Well, we have to become adults and take responsibility for ourselves at some point don’t we?” He smiled.

“Do you… do you think about our future a lot?” Scott asked and Isaac leant in to nuzzle at his neck.

“Well yeah, I was kind of hoping that you did too so I wouldn’t look like a total idiot.” He mumbled.

“No! No, I mean yeah, yeah I do think about us. You just kind of took me by surprise is all.” He said.

“So we have an actual future then?” Isaac nudged.

“Well you want to be with me and I want to be with you so… I hope so.” He said, his hand now gently stroking Isaac's upper arm.

Isaac closed his eyes and leant into Scott’s lips. He liked knowing that Scott saw a future for them, it made his skin tingle all over.

“So…” He said between the gaps in their lips. “What kind of stuff do you think about then?”

Scott smiled. “Well,” he started, still kissing him with no intention of stopping. “I guess I like the idea of having our own place, not needing to worry about anyone walking in on us…”

“Yeah, that was my brilliant idea, what else?” Isaac teased, slipping a hand into Scott’s jeans and palming lightly.

Scott let out a heavy breath. “One of us is going to have to learn how to cook… spaghetti and pizza is probably going to get old…” He said, closing his eyes.

“Uh huh,” Isaac kept up the pace with his hand, nice and slow, enjoying the pleasured look on Scott’s face. “What else?”

“Well for starters we’re going to have to get a set of drawers big enough for all your scarves – _oh!_ ” He groaned as Isaac squeezed a little tighter.

“Don’t get smart with me McCall…” He purred.

“I uh… I mean we could finally use the TiVo without having to sort through like thirty episodes of Grey’s Anatomy…”

Isaac laughed and kissed along Scott’s chin. “I actually don’t mind that show all that much.”

“Well it’s not going on my TiVo.”

“I thought it would be _our_ TiVo?”

“Not if you’re clogging it up with Grey’s Anatomy.”

“God, you’re already so controlling, I might have to think twice about this living together thing…”

Scott laughed and squirmed out of Isaac’s grip and pinned both of his arms behind his head, straddling his hips.

“Pretty sure that was your idea.” He said.

“Yeah well maybe I should take it back.” He teased.

Scott growled, grinding his hips into Isaac’s and loving the way Isaac bit his lip as he did so. “No takesies-backsies.” He said.

“We’re wearing way too many clothes for this.” Isaac said.

“Yeah.” Scott agreed quickly and in less than a second the two of them were on their knees and pulling clothing off and in all directions.

Their mouths came together all teeth and tongues and suddenly the prospect of a weekend away seemed like not such a great idea. Isaac was down to his boxers when Scott shoved him back down into the mattress, pulling them off and tossing them aside without a care.

And then his lips were on his skin. Isaac sucked his bottom lip up into his mouth as Scott trailed his lower down his chest and over his stomach, crawling up in between his legs and giving his thigh a little nudge. Isaac lifted his legs a little and Scott’s lips trailed torturously down the inside of his thigh and then over his calf. He stopped for a moment to gently kiss his instep before sliding all the way back up for a hot wet kiss on the mouth.

Isaac hummed a loud groan. “God I could just do this for hours…” He said his hips rocking upwards to meet Scott’s.

Scott just grinned and went back to kissing various part of his body until Isaac growled and grabbed him tightly by the hair. “I didn’t actually mean it.” He said and Scott just laughed before taking Isaac’s leaking cock in his hand and swirling his thumb over the sticky tip.

Isaac threw his head back and moaned involuntary at just the feel of Scott’s touch. After a few slow movements Scott’s thumb was replaced by his tongue, and then his lips swallowing him down and blinding Isaac to everything else around him.

He may not have a lot of experience in this department but if there was one thing he knew it was that Scott was phenomenal at using his mouth. Not so much for words but his tongue had other ways of making its point known.

It was like he had learned exactly what Isaac needed and he probably had, his throat vibrating as he hummed around Isaac’s sensitive member. Isaac felt himself coming close to release and he managed to breathe out Scott’s name and a few choice words before he was too far gone and Scott pulled back, wiping his chin a little with the back of his hand.

Isaac pulled him up for a kiss that was barely a kiss as he wrapped his legs around Scott’s waist and reached down between them to take him in his hand, feeling that he didn’t need any more warming up.

“Shit… talking about the future get you _that_ hot?” Isaac asked, panting furiously.

“Not as hot as sucking your dick makes me.” Scott grinned and Isaac shook his head.

“Have I ever told you that I love that dirty mouth?” He said, leaning up to suck a fading mark into Scott’s neck.

“Every _single_ time we’re naked.” He laughed.

“Well… I mean it.” Isaac said grazing his nails down Scott’s back.

Scott leaned in close to his ear and let his voice come out low and gravelly. “So you want to play some more or do you want me to fuck you?”

Isaac swallowed hard and took a sharp intake of breath. “Yeah… yeah that… that one.”

Scott scoot upwards and reached over to the bedside table and Isaac watched the plains of his back tighten in his movements and trailed his eyes down over each of his glorious features.

As Scott climbed back over him he took a moment to stare down into his eyes and smile, “I love you, you know.”

“I know, you tell me every single time I’m naked.” Isaac grinned and Scott just growled.

“Smart ass.” He said and rubbed the palm of his hand against Isaac’s smooth ass cheek, reaching under to rub a finger against his entrance.

Isaac groaned. “When the hell did you lube up?” He asked with a grin.

“Probably while you were drooling over me.” Scott smirked, slipping the end of his finger inside him.

Isaac’s voice hitched and he pushed back, causing Scott’s finger to slide all the way in.

“You know I don’t have to go slow if you don’t want me to.” He said, too arrogant for his own good.

“Don’t be a douche and just show me what – _uhn_ …” He wasn’t able to finish because for some reason when Scott flicked his finger upwards his words got lost in translation.

He pulled out and added a second finger, forgetting all about going slow and Isaac didn’t mind one bit. He grabbed Scott’s forearm and pulled him in faster and harder which Scott approved of very much. He opened him up quickly, his fingertips thrumming over his sweet spot in a way that was almost too much to handle.

He felt like he was almost there, on the verge of bliss when Scott pulled out and kissed him on the mouth. His hands fumbled and his voice wavered as he slicked himself up and aligned himself perfectly with Isaac whose sweaty curls were sticking to his brow line.

“You know what I’m going to miss most when you’re gone this weekend?” Scott purred.

Isaac barely had time to register the question before Scott was bottoming out with his mouth pressed into his neck and it was too much to even try and reply. The force of Scott’s hips against him propelled them both forward until Isaac’s shoulders were braced against the headboard. It made a god-awful loud banging sound against the wall but with no one home the two of them couldn’t care less and added to it with their own passionate grunts.

Isaac’s eyes are closed and his lips are parted in a smile that takes over half his face as Scott angles his hips up, rolling them with each forward thrust. His arms were shaking as he held himself up and kept up the pace. If he wasn’t going to see Isaac all weekend then tonight he would have to take advantage of the fact that he had him all to himself.

And he was certainly doing that.

“Scott… Scott I’m…” Isaac panted, barely breathing the words out as he gripped the back of Scott’s neck.

Scott rested his shoulder against Isaac and reached down to jerk him only three, four times until Isaac’s crying out and spilling himself all over both of their chests and Scott’s his are bucking wildly to finish himself off along with him.

As he felt his release he clamped his teeth down on Isaac’s neck, wishing that the beautiful red mark would last more than a few moments.

It took a few seconds to catch their breath before they even moved to get off one another. Isaac let out an elated laugh and Scott smiled.

“That, right there.” He said and Isaac looked over at him with a slow sleepy blink.

“What right where?” He asked.

“That’s what I’m going to miss most, your stupid smile.” Scott said, a dopey grin of his own plastered to his face.

“When did you get so sappy?” Isaac laughed.

“Give me five minutes to calm down and I’ll wish I never said anything.” He said.

“Yeah right, you’re a sap and you know it.”

“Shut up.” Scott said, looking over at Isaac with his rising and falling chest.

He reached out for his hand and took it lightly between his fingers and lifted it to his lips. He speckled it with kisses and Isaac smiled over at him. Scott slipped one of his fingertips between his lips to which Isaac threw his head back with a hearty laugh.

“Oh my god you can't be serious.”

“Not quite, but still, I love you.” He smiled.

Isaac shook his head. “Sap.”

Over in Derek’s flat things were not quite as blissed out.

 

 

“Oh my god Derek we cannot _seriously_ be having this argument again!” Stiles yelled, gesturing wildly with his hand while he paced the loft floor.

Derek sat with his arms folded on a bench stool and shook his head with a loud scoff. “It’s not something that just goes away once you finish yelling about it Stiles.”

“Well it’s not something that we are going to resolve in one fucking day either Derek! I’ve sent out like three applications okay? That means absolutely nothing alright? It’s not like I’m packing up to leave for good!” Stiles said.

“You’ll be in Denver all weekend―”

“Oh my god, _oh my god_! I’ll be in Denver for _the weekend_ ; it’s not four fucking years Derek!” Stiles turned to face him, his feet finally stopping.

“Not yet but it will be when you get accepted somewhere and that’s four years that you won't be here. _Four years_ Stiles.” Derek said.

“You can't – you can't just tell me what to do with my life Derek, it’s mine, okay? You’ve been out and done things and had your life well I haven’t done anything yet! If I want to go out and go to college in some other state then it’s not the end of the world.”

“You know you get upset when I tell you that I don’t care what you do and when I say that I do you still get upset. I don’t know what you want me to say Stiles!” Derek said, getting to his feet and raising his voice.

“I don’t know, maybe that if I did leave you’d at least _think_ about coming with me. Maybe that you’d be happy for me to do something for me even if it did mean leaving.”

“I was practically forcing you to leave last year and all you wanted was for me to tell you to stay. I’m not saying that now but I’m saying that there are plenty of colleges closer to Beacon Hills.”

“And what about coming with me? Huh?” Stiles asked.

“Stiles, you know that I―”

“―can't, I know.” Stiles huffed. “I just… maybe we should just take some time to cool off, okay?” He said, covering his face with his hands. “I’m going to go home, alright?”

“Yeah, fine.” Derek said, shaking his head and keeping his eyes away from Stiles.

“Yeah.” Stiles said with a sigh, reaching into his pocket for his keys. “Fine.”

He walked past Derek without another word and out into the elevator towards his jeep.

He hated these arguments with Derek. They always had the same arguments and the worst part was that some of Derek’s points made sense. He knew he was being irrational because yeah, he did want Derek to care enough to argue but now that he was it was just as annoying as when he didn’t care at all.

He got into his jeep and began driving home, turning the music all the way up with the intention to belt out his frustrations but instead he just sat there and listened to it pumping through the speakers.

When he made it home his dad was asleep on the couch in front of the basketball and he smiled, pulling a blanket over him and turning down the TV set before walking up the stairs. Stiles collapsed on his bed, as if being surrounded by a pack of werewolves wasn’t hard enough, dating the alpha was like a full time job.

He decided to take a shower, scrubbing and scrubbing at his body even though he was mostly clean anyway. He was angry, frustrated, upset, everything about their argument was driving him crazy but the worst part was that he had left it all hanging and if he had learnt one thing over the years it was that you should never leave while you’re angry.

He pulled on his shirt and boxers and climbed under his sheets with a sigh. He saw a shadow flicker in the light from the moon and fought back a smile.

Derek sat against the window outside, facing outwards but listening in to every sound in that room. He sighed to himself. He hated arguing too, with Stiles more than anyone because he could never just shut down the argument like an alpha would and that made his wolf squirm.

He knew that Stiles was aware of his presence because he heard the kick in his heartbeat. He leant his head against the window and sighed again.

“It’s open.” He heard him say from the inside.

Derek stood up and pushed the window up, ducking under and stepping into the room, not so accidentally wearing Stiles’ favourite leather jacket. He stood with his hands in his pockets and a slightly apologetic look on his face.

Stiles scoot over and lifted the blanket so Derek stripped off his jacket and shoes to climb in beside him, pressing his body against him and nuzzling into his neck.

“Sorry I yelled.” Stiles mumbled.

“Me too.” Derek said.

They didn’t say anything more, although they probably should have, but it would have to wait for another time, another fight. So Stiles just closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of sleeping beside Derek for another night.

 

 

Erica was walking to school that morning alone like usual. She was taking her time because the last thing she wanted to do was deal with people. Her mid was swimming with thoughts and as of yet she still hadn’t made a decision.

Her feet scuffed, still wearing heels to school despite the teachers telling her that it would probably be safer for her to come with something more sensible. Of course she wasn’t going to listen, she hadn’t done much of that since getting the bite from Derek.

“Hey Blondie, where you going?” She grit her teeth as she heard Aiden’s voice calling out from behind her.

“What do you want?” She asked, not looking up but her hips getting a little extra involuntary swing.

“Saw you walking, thought it was a little dangerous for a girl to be walking down the street all alone.” He said with a grin and Erica smirked.

“You obviously don’t know me.” She said.

“Guess not.” He said.

They walked along in silence for a while, Erica had so many questions that she thought of asking him about Katherine and the pack but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Eventually though she had to say _something_.

“So your alpha seems pretty kicky.” She said.

“Katherine’s something alright.” He said, looking up and straight ahead as they walked.

“Seems like you have a good thing going.”

He chuckled to himself a little. “Looks that way doesn’t it?”

Erica looked up at him. “Are you saying that it’s not?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Everyone thinks the grass is greener.” He shrugged. “I mean ask me if you should convert and I’ll give you a different answer.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to be cryptic or are you just a little bit slow?”

“I’m not trying to be confusing, and I’m only slow when the situation demands it.” He winked.

“Right, of course you are.” She said sarcastically. “So if I ask you whether I should take Katherine up on her offer you’ll tell me… what?”

“That this pack will be better for you than Derek’s, that you don’t fit there.” He said.

“… and if I ask what you think of being in her pack?” She said as she looked up from under her eyelashes.

“Well I’d say that you always think things are going to be better when you’re looking in at them. You know I was born like this right? I’ve had other packs before and they’re all different. We’re always different when we’re with different people.” He said.

They locked eyes for a moment before she shook her head. “You’re being cryptic.”

“You free tonight?” He said.

She scoffed and then laughed out loud. “You know that party was a one-time thing.”

“Why? You have a boyfriend or something?” He asked.

She hesitated for a moment before answering. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” She said.

“So what’s stopping you?”

“How about I agree to call you if I get lonely?” She asked with a smirk.

He grinned before grabbing her around the waist and pulling her flush against him.

“Excuse you.” Erica said, pounding a fist into his chest.

“I’ll be expecting a call.” He said with a grin and she shoved him away.

“Get out of here you asshole.” She said and he straightened up his jacket before turning on his heel and walking swiftly away.

She didn’t know what to think of his words about his pack, mostly she just didn’t understand. The rest of his words… well she didn’t really know what to think of them either.

 

The day was long, starting quickly and drawing out as the first school bell rang with Stiles in a quiet mood and Erica always thinking about Katherine and Aiden’s words. Daisy still hadn’t shown up and it made Boyd restless, Allison was mostly trying to avoid Lydia and Jackson who were in the throes of another argument and looking for someone to bitch at. The only ones who seemed to be cruising through the day were Scott and Isaac.

The two of them made everyone else gag with their happy smiles and playful glances, to the point where Stiles shoved Isaac off his chair at lunch out of annoyance.

At the end of the day Scott offered Isaac a lift back to the loft but he felt like walking and told him that he knew he really wanted to study because he got nothing done the night before. So Scott let him walk off on the long path, not knowing that someone was following him.

Isaac didn’t notice it either because they kept their distance, eyeing him completely out of scent range until he came to the path by the woods where that familiar scent hit him again like it had been doing for so many weeks now.

This time it was different, stronger, and his ears were picking up even more. Footsteps, fast approaching from behind and do he stopped in his tracks, spinning around  to see the figure standing before him, paused only a few metres from him.

“Oh my god…” He said, narrowing his eyes, the memories of that scent coming back to him. “It’s you.”

She smiled with her exceptional eyes glinting in the afternoon light. “Hey Isaac, Derek around?” Karissa said with a hand on her waist and a pop of her hip and Isaac knew that this was going to be more than any of them wanted to deal with.


	30. Chapter Thirty

Derek wasn’t expecting much to come of that night.

He was expecting Stiles to come over at some point after his studying. He expected Peter to call up with some kind of need to talk scenario which he would ignore. The last thing he expected was for Isaac to call him down to the outside entrance of the loft with a very flat tone and using the words ‘you need to get down here like, yesterday’.

He hung up the phone and headed straight downstairs. If Isaac was as worried in person as he sounded on the phone then something was seriously wrong. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t just come up to see him.

So he didn’t take the elevator, he took the fire escape to save time and ran to the front entrance where he saw Isaac by a pillar. He stopped in his tracks when he saw who was standing by his side.

There she stood, black jeans and black T-shirt with big black combat-boots and her arms folded. Her scent was quite pleasant, some might have called it alluring, but Derek knew why and just seeing her made his skin prickle with the memories of last year.

“What are you doing here?” He said with a coldness to his voice that didn't go unnoticed.

“Come on now Derek, I thought we were past all of this ‘my sister tried to kill your werewolves’ thing. You could at least say hi.” She said, popping her hip.

“If I remember right you were leaving Beacon Hills with no intent to return.” He said. “Are you going back on your word?”

“Do you really think I would be here if I had any other option?” She hissed and Derek felt the air about them change. She obviously felt it too because she took a deep breath and soon it was back to normal. “I’m here because you made an alliance with my mother. That alliance was to be that you were on our side if we asked for your help.”

“So where is your mother?”

She sighed but kept her eyes trained on him. “She’s missing.”

Derek raised an eyebrow and Isaac looked from him back to Karissa.

“What do you mean missing?” Isaac asked.

“I mean she’s gone, disappeared, nowhere to be seen.” She said with a quick glance to Isaac.

“For how long?” Derek asked.

“Weeks now, getting closer to months.”

“How do you know she didn’t just leave? I mean hell, if I was stuck with you for―” Isaac started.

“There’s a bond, idiot, my mother would never leave us without a word. We are a family, you know, one of those ‘we only have each other’ type deals. Something isn’t right and… and I need help to find her.” She said with a last look to Derek, nothing but the truth in her eyes.

“Wait… you said she’d never leave ‘us’, you didn’t bring your psycho sister here did you?” Isaac asked and Derek raised an eyebrow as if to reiterate the same question.

“Freya isn’t the same as she was before. We helped her, drew her back in. She hasn’t killed anyone in months. My mother and I cleansed her of all that bad blood back when we took her away from here. She’s still got that killer instinct but hey, I wouldn’t want to be around you in a bad mood on a full moon.” She said with a snap at Isaac. “I just thought that you wouldn’t listen if she came with me to see you and I just – I need you to listen to me and to help me. I know my mother’s treaty means nothing because she’s gone and it wasn’t me that you had the deal with but if you just―”

“What do you need?” Derek said.

“What?” She asked.

“How do you expect me to help you?”

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“What a masterful mind you have.” Isaac said and Karissa’s eyes glowed as she looked over at him.

He even began to feel a pull and a pang of attraction towards her before she tore her gaze away and clamped her eyes tightly closed. After a second to compose herself she looked up.

“I’m going through the transition, soon I’ll have the full abilities of my species and it’s hard enough to keep them in check as it is without assholes like you making me angry.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Well I’m sorry I’m still a little bitter from when your sister _tried to kill me_!” Isaac said.

“Enough!” Derek yelled and they both winced as they looked up. “Isaac, get over here.” He said and Isaac plodded over with his head low to stand by Derek’s side. “What makes you think I have any idea how to find her?”

“You have a pack of werewolves and your sense of smell is better than mine and my sisters’. Plus… plus you have an emissary that knows a lot more about the supernatural than the rest of us.” She said, confirming the suspicions Derek had back when her mother was asking for an alliance from him.

He sighed. He knew that the right thing to do was to help her. He could see the desperate look in her eye and he knew that she really didn't want to have to come to him but clearly she was out of options. She was young, fresh, she probably had no other connections to the supernatural and if Derek understood anything it was family ties.

“We can take you to Deaton, see if he could be any help, but I need to talk to my pack before this goes any further.” He said.

“But you’ll help me?” She asked.

“I don’t go back on my word.” He said.

Isaac shook his head a little but Karissa filled the space between them with relief.

“Where are you staying?” He asked.

“In a motel downtown, with my sister.” She said with a glance at Isaac. “She’s rehabilitated, she’s not going to hurt anyone―”

“Good. You know that if any harm comes to my pack because of her then our little agreement is out the window.” He said firmly and she nodded.

“Crystal clear.” She said.

“We’ll meet you at the clinic around seven.”

“All of you or just you and him?” She asked.

“As many of us as we can manage.”

“Well if any harm comes to me or my sister from one of your wolves then the same rules as mentioned above apply.” She said and Derek just nodded. “Thank you.” She said with a look of kindness before she turned on her heel and disappeared into the dark.

“We are not seriously _helping_ her after what she did are we?” Isaac asked as they walked to the loft door.

“ _She_ didn’t do anything, and the two of them are going to be here looking whether we like it or not so it’s better to keep an eye on them rather than have them hanging around in the shadows.” Derek said.

“Point taken. Do you want me to call everyone?” He asked.

Derek nodded. “Don’t call my uncle.”

Isaac scoffed. “Believe me, there will not be a single day when something is important enough for me to call that guy.”

 

None of them were expecting that call, it was probably why they all showed up to the clinic well before the meet-up time. Deaton had closed up the practice and Scott was already there. Derek and Isaac were next there in the Camaro.

As soon as they walked through the clinic doors Scott was up and asking them questions.

“What’s going on? What happened? Can you please tell me the full story right now?” He said and Isaac just grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug.

“Derek wants to wait until everyone’s here to go over the whole thing.” Isaac said as Derek retreated into the other room with Deaton.

He and Scott took a seat in the waiting area and Scott had his worried face on. “She showed up? Followed you home from school?”

“I don’t know whether she followed me or whether she was on her way to Derek’s and then just saw me and thought it would be better to approach me first… I don’t know, ask her when she gets here.” He said.

“I don’t like this, I mean we’ve got enough to try and worry about with Katherine and her pack let alone bringing _her_ back into this.” Scott said.

“Speaking of the other pack, do you think we should tell them about Karissa? You know, to keep the peace?” Isaac asked.

Scott sighed. “I don’t know, Katherine might think we’re ganging up on her with some other kind of supernatural force. Maybe it would be best to keep it to ourselves.”

“Well what about Erica? I mean she’s close to Aiden isn’t she? What if she lets something slip?” Isaac asked.

“Oh sure, blame the hormonal teenage girl for any outbreaks of information.” They both turned to the door as Boyd and Erica walked in. “Do you really think I’m that much of an idiot?”

“I didn’t say that Erica.” Isaac said.

“You didn’t have to.”

“All I meant was that if lives were at risk you would feel more obliged to tell him because of your… emotional attachments.”

She scoffed. “Please, I have _no_ emotional attachments to him.”

“Can we not argue like this?” Boyd said, most definitely trying to avoid having this argument again.

So they waited mostly in silence for the others to show up, Stiles had Allison with him and Lydia and Jackson showed up not long after. They were all anxious to hear what Derek had to say and so they gathered around the steel table in the back of the clinic with Deaton standing by Derek’s side.

“Is this one of those debriefings that begins with you saying ‘please leave all questions until the end of the presentation’ because I think that is probably an effective method.” Stiles said and Derek huffed an impatient sigh at him before speaking to the rest of them.

“I don’t know how much Isaac told you but it boils down to the fact that Karissa and her sister are back in town.” He said.

“So we’re dealing with a weirdo pack _and_ we’re going back to the whole Maeve fiasco?” Jackson asked with sarcasm.

“Her mother is missing. Right before the three of them left Beacon Hills I made an alliance with her, that if she needed help I would be there as an ally.” He said. “She’s missing and Karissa needs help to find her. They came to me _because_ of that alliance and because she knows that her best chance of finding her lies with him.” He said, nodding to Deaton beside him.

“How does she know she’s actually missing and not just―” Jackson began.

“There’s a bond. It’s not just wolves that have connections. She knows that something is wrong and she’s willing to do anything to get her mother back.” Derek said, cutting him off.

“Well why do we have to help her? She caused more than enough trouble when she was here last, well, her sister did. If you made the alliance with her mother then why should you honour it for her?” Boyd asked.

“This was her last option.” Derek said. “Not to mention that we don’t want her or her sister as our enemy. I’m not saying we have to be on the same team, just stand on the same side for a while.”

“So wait, wait, how exactly are you going to help her?” Stiles asked, looking over at Deaton.

“Well, I’ll have to get more of a story from her and find out what I can… hopefully I can use their family ties to help them find a clear direction. From then on it will either be win or lose.” He said.

“Helpful.” Jackson said.

“Well what about the other alpha? Are you going to tell her about any of it?” Allison asked.

“No. No one says a word to any of them about Karissa, her mother, not even what happened last year. Katherine will intervene if she thinks her pack could be in danger, especially if she’s heard of a Maeve before.” Derek said.

“Why is nothing ever easy with you people?” Lydia asked, her arms folded and her face showing off her frustration.

“She’ll be here soon, I’ll go out front and wait.” Boyd said.

“Take Lydia with you, remember this _Karissa_ is a manipulator of men so a woman probably wouldn’t go astray.” Erica said and Lydia raised an eyebrow at her.

“So are you.” She said before following Boyd out of the building, her heels clicking as she did so.

“I think all women in this room could go under that title, or at least have done at some stage in the last few years.” Stiles mumbled with a raised eyebrow and Jackson nodded with a grin.

Allison just shook her head and sighed. “When did you get to be just like him?” She asked Stiles.

“Oh come on, just because―”

“Enough.” Derek said, his arms folded and a deep furrow in his brow.

Stiles stared down at his feet and Isaac looked from one to another with a side glace to Scott. The two gave each other wide eyes and pursed lips because this really wasn’t helping the atmosphere of the room.

After that they mostly stayed quiet until Lydia came back in with a nod and a solemn look. They waited for Derek to take the lead and then followed him out into the waiting area where Karissa stood by the door, Boyd leaning against the front desk.

“I see you have everyone here to see me. I don’t know whether I should feel threatened or flattered.” She said.

Derek just raised an eyebrow at her and all of the others looked to him for the next course of action.

“Okay, sorry, just trying to break the ice in here.” She said, folding her arms.

“How _do_ you feel in here?” Deaton asked.

She looked around the place and then back at him. “Unsettling at best. I felt it last time I was here too. I’m not sure what you’re doing but my mother was right about you.”

Deaton just smiled and opened the door to let her through and into the back.

“Well if you explain your situation I’ll do my best to help.” He said as he gave her a chair.

She looked up with a soft smile. “Thank you.” She said.

“How can you tell your mother is missing?” He asked gently.

“Well that much is obvious. No one just disappears for weeks on end with no contact if something bad hasn’t happened. I know it has. It’s this feeling – the same thing that you all get when something is wrong with one of you, like a hook under your belly button pulling with just enough force to leave you uncomfortable. Something is _wrong_.” She said.

“Where was it you last saw her?” Deaton asked.

“Just inside the eastern border, we were on our way to Arizona. It’s not unusual for her to be gone for a night, maybe two without contact.” She looked up to Derek. “We have to sate our instincts sometimes. When she wasn’t back after a week we knew it wasn’t good. I had that hook feeling for most of it but I didn’t recognise it. I wish I had. If we did we might have caught up to her, the closest we tracked her was an hour out of Beacon Hills so we’ve been in and out, circling for way too long.

“I thought about coming here back around New Year’s but the way things went with my sister I didn’t think you’d be all that willing to give me your help.” She said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Deaton looked up at Derek who was sighing loudly with his eyes shut. “Well it’s not my call.”

“Derek, please. You have no idea how much my instincts are screaming at me for coming to you for help, how much my ancestors would be turning in their grave―”

“Alright!” Derek said. “Alright.”

She looked up with hopeful eyes and Derek nodded.

“I can see that you’re desperate. And if everyone else agrees…” He looked around to the rest of his pack who nodded in reluctant agreement. “If everyone agrees then we’ll help you. Talk it out with Deaton first, and then we’ll figure out what we’re going to do.”

The air around them almost seemed to relax as Deaton gestured over to his office so that the two of them could leave the pack to their discussions. Karissa seemed to take the hint because she jumped up quickly and answering one of Deaton’s questions before they had made it halfway across the room.

“So we’re really doing this, huh?” Jackson asked once they had turned into the small room.

“What would you have me do, turn her away?” Derek said.

“No, but I do think we need to keep a close eye on her.” He retorted.

“Why would she do anything to hurt us when all she wants is to find her mother?” Allison asked. “She needs us.”

“This is about as screwed up as it gets.” Erica mumbled.

“Yeah it’s screwed up but Allison’s right. What are we supposed to do, hold a grudge forever?” Isaac said.

“I say we help her. Unless she’s a brilliant liar then we have no reason not to trust her.” Scott offered.

“Except for the fact that her sister – who is out there somewhere waiting for information – put three of you in the hospital last year and is only newly rehabilitated.” Lydia said.

“She does have a point.” Boyd sighed.

“Yeah, but it’s not that simple.” Stiles said with a sigh.

“We can vote if it makes you all feel better.” Derek said.

“Derek you know we’ve all made up our mind about it.” Jackson said.

He looked around the circle at them all and they were giving him solemn faces. They weren’t looking forward to it but none of them were cold enough to reject a girl looking for her family.

“I guess I better call Cassie and tell her that this weekend’s trip is off.” Isaac said and Derek turned to look at him.

“No.” He said.

They all gave him looks with their eyebrows cocked and Stiles just narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I mean I want the three of you to stick to your plans.”

“What, are you kidding? No.” Isaac said.

“You want the three of us to just flit off to Denver while you deal with two Maeve’s and one missing one?” Erica asked, her nostrils flaring.

Lydia and Jackson exchanged glances and Scott, Allison and Boyd took a few steps back because they knew this wasn’t going to go down easily.

“Keep your plans. Go to Denver. I don’t want to draw attention to the fact that there’s something going on here. The last thing we need is for Katherine to find out about this and make things even more difficult.” Derek said.

“You really think the three of us going to Denver makes that an easier secret to keep?” Isaac asked and Stiles thought about one important common denominator.

“It doesn’t, but if I remember correctly, it was the three of us that ended up the weak links last time.” Stiles said with an accusing look towards Derek.

Erica’s jaw locked up. “Right, you think we’re the weak ones and this will get done a lot faster if we’re gone.”

“You can't just sideline us like that.” Isaac said.

“You already made plans and we don’t need ten people to do this. It’s one weekend and the problems will still be here when you get back.” Derek said calmly.

Erica scoffed and Isaac looked pretty pissed, but it was Stiles that looked the most hurt.

“Maybe…” Scott began and Isaac turned to him. “Maybe it would be a good idea for you guys to stick with your plans.” He said.

Isaac pursed his lips and Stiles sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. “Yeah well, my dad won't let me pull out without a good reason anyway so I guess I don’t really have a choice.”

“Well I guess that’s that then, huh?” Erica said.

Isaac shoved his hands in his pockets and they didn’t say any more about it, the three of them staying unusually quiet through the rest of the evening.

They had some kind of plan figured out. Karissa was going to take Derek, Allison and Boyd up to where they had last been together and the others were going to stay in Beacon Hills. Lydia would be working with Deaton and Jackson and Scott were going to hijack something with Dahlia’s scent to try and find anything that they could.

They knew that the most likely scenario would be that they find nothing; it had been weeks since she disappeared after all, but they had given their word that they would try.

Slowly they filtered out, giving Karissa a head start of course. Stiles turned to leave without a word but Derek snagged him before he could leave the building.

“Stiles, wait.” He said, grabbing his arm and pulling him around to face him.

He sighed with his eyes wide, clearly in anything but a good mood. “What is it Derek?”

“It’s not that I think you can't help us, I just don’t want you to miss going to Denver because of it.” He said.

Stiles nodded, his face growing even more sarcastic by the second. “Okay, yeah, that makes sense, coming from the guy who was trying to do everything possible to _stop_ me from going just last night. That’s a nice turnaround there.”

“Stiles I―”

“No, you know what? You can’t… you can't just try to tell me that you want me to do this because I’m interested in colleges and I need to be looking to the future and that you get all of that because it’s a flat out lie. I would love for you to say that, hell, if it were yesterday and you told me to go ahead and go to Denver I would have been happy, thrilled even. But don’t make out like this change in heart is exactly that because it’s not, okay?” He snapped, pushing Derek’s hand away.

“You’re right it’s not, but I’m glad something is important enough for you to consider not going up there.” He said and Stiles rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated laugh.

“I can't do this right now, Derek, I just – I need some time by myself, okay? So please just, don’t come by tonight.” He said and Derek took a step back gritting his teeth and letting him walk out of the room.

He breathed in a few heavy breaths and calmed himself down, regaining his cool before he headed over to talk to Deaton, needing all the distraction he could get.

Isaac was already outside and Scott walked over to him upon leaving the clinic.

“Hey,” he said. “look Isaac I hope you don’t think that I don’t think you’re up to this… I just agree with Derek that we don’t want to―”

“No it’s fine Scott, really.” Isaac said, cutting him off and looking out at the parking lot.

“Are… are you sure? You seem a little―”

“I’m fine.” He said.

Scott looked a little wounded and Isaac sighed, reaching out to take his hand.

“Look, I know you think you’re looking out for me, but I actually kind of hoped you would stand by me in there. I don’t want anyone to think that I can't be an active part of this pack because of something that happened one time.” He said.

“No one thinks that Isaac, I just – I… you wanted to go this weekend, you wanted to have fun and you deserve to have a weekend where you can just relax.” Scott said.

“You really think any of us will be relaxed knowing that we’re doing nothing to help?” He raised an eyebrow.

“What more is there that you guys could do here? More of the same really. I promise I’ll text you with every scent that I get and every new piece of information we find.” He smiled. “Plus, I think Derek’s just being protective because last time she was here it was you three that he had to worry about, and it’s just bringing back those memories. Maybe it would be easier if he just knew that you were safe this weekend at least.”

“Yeah, I think Derek has enough emotional trauma to last a lifetime, a few comatose teenagers probably doesn’t really hit that nerve anymore.” He said and Scott chuckled a little.

“Oh come on, it’s you and _Stiles_ for crying out loud, Erica maybe not so much, but everyone knows that you’re his favourite.”

“I am _not_ his favourite.”

“Please, you live in his house for god’s sake.”

“That means nothing. And you promise; every little thing?” He said and Scott nodded, leaning in to kiss him softly on the lips.

“Everything, okay? I promise.”

Isaac sighed but eventually he nodded and accepted the fact that he was just going to be of no help this weekend. The feeling sucked and he knew that Stiles was feeling it too from the way that he stormed out to his car fresh from another argument with Derek. Erica was the same, she just left before anyone got the chance to talk to her, but there was still one day of school left before they began their trip out to Denver and she couldn’t hide from everyone there.

As she walked away from them all she pulled out her phone, looking through her contacts and hitting ‘dial’ on Aiden’s number.

He picked up on the third ring.

“Hey,” she said. “You doing anything right now?”

 

 

The next day went by way too fast. Things were still tense between the three of them and the rest of the pack. Come to think of it, it was tense all around. Everyone was interested in knowing how this whole weekend would play out.

Derek tried to talk to Stiles at lunch, coming all the way down to the school to see him but he was having none of it. Neither of them wanted to apologize, both as stubborn as the other and so they settled nothing, despite Stiles leaving that afternoon for another state.

Scott and Isaac on the other hand had both apologized but still there was something hanging over them, an awkwardness that they couldn’t quite shake.

Erica was the same as always, slightly colder than usual but still the same. They were all meeting at Stiles’ place after school, Cassie was picking Isaac up from there so that they could take two cars. Both she and Stiles had vehicles that were quite small and so Erica would be riding with Stiles while Isaac could have some one on one time with his old friend.

All three of them looked less than impressed at going on a nine hour road trip, even though the Sheriff had come out to try and rouse them. He couldn’t understand why three kids weren’t excited about a weekend away to look at a prospective college.

He gave Stiles some money and hugged him before heading off for the evening shift at the station. He looked so happy that his son was finally thinking about the future, even though that was about the furthest thing from his mind.

As the three of them sat on the steps Isaac looked over to the others.

“We’re not the weak ones, right?” He asked.

“Please, we could take them all down. Even Stiles if he thought about it hard enough.” Erica said.

“I think that it was just a big coincidence that it was the three of us to make going away plans the same weekend that _she_ turned up again. As much as I’ve been giving Derek a hard time about it I know that he doesn’t want _this_ to be the reason that I stay here this weekend. You two… well, if he made me go and the two of you stay he knows I would be so much more than angry.” Stiles said.

“Oh so it’s all about you now?” Erica said.

“No, I think he would have been wary about us being around her even if we didn’t already have plans. He does have a heart in there you know, somewhere.” Stiles grumbled.

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.” Erica mumbled.

“Hey, even the Grinch grew a heart.” Isaac said.

“I guess.” She said.

It was about that point that Cassie pulled up in the driveway and wound down her window.

“Jesus, who died?” She asked.

“No one died,” Isaac said, rolling his eyes.

“So why do you look like I’m here to take you to a funeral?”

“Please, nine hours in a car alone with you? I’m pretty sure we’re going to _my_ funeral.” He said with a smile and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Well come on then, get in the car and you two,” she pointed to Stiles and Erica, “get your butts moving because next stop is Denver baby!”

They both stood up and grabbed their bags.

“We are stopping before we get to Denver though right because I’m probably not going to be able to last that long sitting down.” Stiles said.

Isaac rolled his eyes. “Come on, if we’re doing this then we might as well enjoy ourselves.” He gave the two of them a warm smile.

“I suppose we can try.” Erica said. “Plus if we get bored I can take the wheel for a while.”

“Ohh no, nope, no, not _even_ happening. My jeep, my rules, and you are _so_ not getting in the driver’s seat.” He said and she let out her first real laugh all day.

“See, that’s the spirit!” Cassie called out and Isaac gave them a grin as he opened her passenger door and climbed in.

“Denver baby.” Erica repeated and Stiles just rolled his eyes one more time for emphasis.


	31. Chapter Thirty-One

Derek sat alone in the loft on Friday night.

He thought he might have gotten a text, or maybe even a call from Stiles to say goodbye but when nine o-clock came around and his phone remained blank he was quite sure that it wasn’t going to come.

He was frustrated, mostly with himself, partly with Stiles. He knew that their relationship would be complicated from the second he decided to act on his trigger. He just didn’t know that he would care so much, or that a teenager could actually have him waiting by the phone to let him know that they weren’t still fighting.

He shouldn’t care so much, he knew he shouldn’t. He knew that part of the reason why he told all three of them to stick to their plans was because he cared. He’d seen them get hurt before and the memory was still fresh enough to sting. The reasons he gave them were true enough, but it was this one that he kept to only himself, even if the others had their suspicions.

It wasn’t until ten that he felt his pocket gently buzzing while he read on the couch and he fished it out so that he could answer it.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey Sourwolf,” he heard from the other line.

“How’s the road?” He asked.

“Long, and mostly boring. We can't even see the licence plates now so that game is sort of off the table. And Erica is the worst at I-Spy.” He said.

Derek nodded even though he knew Stiles couldn’t see him and he heard a little huff of air from him on the other end.

“Sorry I just sort of… you know, left.” He said.

“I’m sorry I asked you to.” Derek replied.

“All this college stuff is really killing our mojo isn’t it?”

“Had to happen at some point.”

“It did? I thought werewolves were like chronically in the mood or something.”

“I meant the part about college Stiles.”

“Yeah, yeah I suppose so.”

More silence.

“Look I uh, I was just calling because we’re taking a rest stop. It’s going to be another two hours before we get to the motel but I figured you’d be asleep or something and I didn’t want to leave things kind of, well you know―”

“Stiles…”

“Yeah, sorry, babbling.”

“I like your babbling.” Derek said softly.

Stiles chuckled a little. “Well, uh, I have to go.”

“Text me when you get there, and I don’t know whether I should tell you to drink coffee to stay alert or to avoid it so you don’t keep the others up all night.”

“Love you.”

“I know, I love you too.”

“Night Derek.” Stiles said before he hung up the phone and Derek was left once again with the sound of silence.

Something was going to have to give, he knew that. Stiles could get accepted into almost any school that he wanted so he would have to pick of the litter. He hated the thought of him off in another state for four years of school and if the last few arguments had been anything to go by then their relationship just wasn’t in a place that could handle that.

How the hell did his world end up revolving around a damn teenager?

 

 

It was just after midnight that the four of them arrived at their motel in Denver, checking in and finding their rooms quickly. When Isaac found the bed he flopped down onto it and Cassie just laughed.

“You weren’t even driving! How can you be that tired?” She asked.

“I was still sitting in a car for like nine hours, and how are you _not_ tired?”

“I’m used to being up this late, everyone knows you’re most productive at night.” She said with a grin. “That’s what you’ve got to look forward to if you decide you want to come to college.”

He just let out a grunt. “Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that, I barely manage to make it through high school.”

“Well get some sleep now because we are up bright and early to go sight-seeing on campus. I told Stiles I’d show him where all the good food is.” She chirped.

“Because that’s the most important thing to consider when choosing a college.” Isaac grinned and her face became very serious.

“You have no idea how true that actually is. I’m not even joking. You know I’m actually a vegetarian now after some bad experiences.” She grinned.

“They had to have been real bad experiences.”

She laughed to herself and walked over to the bathroom, pausing in the doorway. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have me rooming with Erica? I mean isn’t that the way these things are supposed to go?”

Isaac shrugged. “Figured we could sit up talking like we used to. Besides, that would mean I would have to spend the night with Stiles and he’s just plain annoying.”

She laughed, “yeah, okay, well I’m setting the alarm for eight so if you don’t like it then you’re out of luck.”

He shook his head with a groan as she shut the door behind her and checked his messages.

 

**Denver looking okay?**

He hit reply on Scott’s message and shot him a text back.

 

_Well, it’s pretty dark out so I didn’t really get a good look_

**Smart ass**

_Looking forward to being a scent-hound tomorrow?_

**Kind of wish I’d agreed to come with you when you asked**

“Now you say that…” Isaac mumbled to himself.

 

_Yeah well, bed… lie in_

**I said I was sorry didn’t I?**

_Yeah I know, and it doesn’t matter. Just get some study done if you can_

**I’d rather just text you**

Isaac’s smile turned up in a grin.

 

_Scott… are you wearing clothes?_

**… maybe**

This was so not the time to be starting up a sexting session. Maybe if he could get to the bathroom – no! Well, just because he wasn’t alone didn't mean he couldn’t give Scott a helping hand, he’d just have to make up for the lost opportunity when he got back.

 

 

“So did you text Boyd to tell him we got here A-Okay?” Stiles asked, putting his phone on the side table as Erica dried off her hair with a towel.

“No, why?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged. “I don’t know, thought maybe you would.”

“We aren’t together.”

“You’ve made that abundantly clear… what with the vehement denials and the sleeping with Aiden.”

“You going to give me crap for that too?” She snapped.

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “No, I was just saying. I don’t care who you do. I mean come on, I’m the idiot who thought it would be fun to hook up with an alpha werewolf for the fun of it.”

She nodded a little. “True. So why the hell is there only one bed in this crap-hole?” She asked.

“Mistake at the front desk. There’s a pull-out mattress though so I’ll take that and you can sleep up top.” He said.

“What a gentleman you are.”

“Well, I try. Also Cassie wants to be up for breakfast at nine so if you snore I will have to kill you.”

Erica laughed. “Please, I’ll be out in five minutes and you won't hear from me until morning.”

“Is that going to be a sight that I don’t want to see?” Stiles asked with a cheeky grin.

“You know I actually _can_ kill you.” She said.

“Very true.” He replied, pulling out the mattress from the cupboard and unrolling it.

It wouldn’t be the most comfortable place to sleep but he has slept cramped up in a tent with Derek so this would be easy. When he finally carved himself a groove in the foam he grabbed his phone to text Derek.

 

_Night Sourwolf, see you in two days_

 

Derek replied faster than Stiles expected.

 

**Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do**

 

_Oh yeah and what does that leave me with?_

 

**Fine, don’t do anything that I’ve admitted to doing in the past**

 

_You have to ruin all the fun don’t you?_

 

**I love you**

 

_Yeah, love you too SW_

 

 

* * *

 

The pack was up early the next morning, particularly Derek, Boyd and Allison. The three of them met Karissa at the meet-up point just after eight; it was a couple hours’ drive to and from their destination. It was a long shot and they all knew that there would probably be nothing left to track. Allison was coming along because her father had taught her a lot in the way of tracking – and hunting down – supernatural creatures, only this time she was under a new oath.

She had a black backpack full of equipment that she was hoping her father wouldn’t notice missing and Derek had even agreed to let her lead this one, seeing as scent was probably not going to go very far. She had seemed quite flattered when he’d asked her but the moment they got into the car she was talking game-plans with Karissa and Derek and Boyd had just looked at one another like they were going to be an interesting combination.

The drive was long and when they weren’t talking strategy, they just weren’t talking. The strange part was that they all preferred it that way.

Back in Beacon Hills Scott and Jackson had split up, trying to catch any hint of a scent but it was pretty dismal. Still, they kept going. They didn’t start until midday of course; neither of them expected their search to last more than a few hours.

Lydia talked to Deaton in the morning, asking her to do some research of her own. She had told him that Stiles did the research and she just made sense of it but his resounding silence on the other line had her sighing loudly and agreeing to try her best. She wasn’t going to meet up with him until Scott and Jackson were done for the day.

In Denver they were trying to do anything but the goings on back home.

 

They woke up at around eight, Isaac exactly on the hour because of Cassie’s alarm. Once he had enough functioning brain matter to do anything other than grunt and groan he walked down to Erica and Stiles’ room and banged loudly on the door until Erica opened it with frizzy blonde hair and a growl.

He told them to get dressed and meet out the front for nine and she had slammed the door back in his face, claiming the bathroom first and taking a shower. Stiles just laughed because he knew she wasn’t going to be in a good mood in the morning, of course he kept his sniggering to himself until she was under the water stream and well out of earshot.

Well out of killing distance more like.

Eventually they made it down to the front of the motel, the two girls pulling up surprisingly better than expected after less than enough sleep. Stiles had no idea how Erica’s hair was so shiny and new and he couldn’t even stick his down in one direction. He didn’t ask though, mostly because the thought was in his head on minute and replaced the next with images of mountains of food.

“So what are we eating?” He asked as they headed off, walking down the street to Cassie’s car.

“There is the most amazing waffle house on the south corner of campus. It’s cheap and the food is probably the best thing you’ll ever put in your mouth.” She grinned. “Also you can take your car too if you want, mine is kind of a tight squeeze.” She said.

Stiles flicked his hand and scoffed. “We’ll manage, it’s not that far. And about that other part, have you _seen_ my boyfriend?” He grinned.

Cassie laughed and unlocked the doors to her toy-box car while Isaac and Erica just cringed. “That I have, and I’m still going to have to say that these waffles are better than _anything_.”

“Let’s pile in and stop talking about putting bits of Derek in our mouths, _please_ , while I still have an appetite.” Erica said, crawling over to the far side of the back seat and Isaac crawled in beside her.

“How does she _not_ want to talk about that?” Cassie said, leaning over to Stiles in the front seat.

“Her issue not mine, now let’s get to breakfast before I eat Isaac.”

“Please don’t say that after just talking about swallowing parts of Derek’s anatomy.” Isaac said, his knees bunching up near his chest because the back seat is just so much more closed in than the front.

“Oh, god, why would you say it like that?! Seriously, _Isaac_.” Erica said and Cassie and Stiles just laughed from the front seat as they drove down to the waffle place.

As they drove all of five minutes to get there Isaac sent Scott a text, asking him if everything was going smoothly but didn’t get a reply. _It’s still early_ , he thought to himself.

They finally settled in for breakfast and the fuss that Cassie had made was proven one-hundred per cent true. Stiles would have been content to stay there and just eat all day but with only the Saturday and a few hours on Sunday morning to explore the campus and faculties they really couldn’t afford that luxury.

They made a plan to check out the few that Stiles was interested in first and then Cassie said she’d take him on a tour through the criminology building while Erica and Isaac found something more to their liking to do. They’d probably just end up wandering around for an hour. After that was lunch and then any other campus buildings that they wanted to see. They’d wing the rest of the afternoon based on how tired they were from walking all day.

“Why did we agree to do this again?” Erica asked Isaac with a smile.

“Because our friends have actual aspirations?” She pulled a face, not sure that was completely the answer. “Oh, and we’re suckers.”

“That’s the one.” She replied as they got up and headed onto the University campus for a long day ahead.

 

 

* * *

 

“This is the last place we stayed, I’m pretty sure there’s no one else living here anymore.” Karissa said as they came upon a small townhouse in a suburban cul-de-sac.

The grass was overgrown and the rest of the plants were dead. Derek and Boyd lifted their noses to take in the scents in the air around them.

“There’s a few odd scents here and there but that’s probably the mailman, a few door-to-doors maybe. Nothing strong anyway.” Derek said.

“Not to mention the place is the most unkempt place on the whole block.” Allison said. “Where would she have gone from here?”

Karissa shrugged. “Where would one go if she was seducing men to play with?” She said sarcastically.

Allison narrowed her eyes. “You know if you’re going to answer my questions like that then why are we even bothering to help you?”

“Alright, fine.” Karissa said, rolling her eyes. “I still have a key to this place so let’s just go inside. Maybe she had somewhere that she would take guys, maybe they just rented a motel.”

“You’re still doing it.” Allison said, following her inside as she opened the door.

“Maybe we should wait outside.” Boyd said to Derek.

“Believe me, I thought about it.” He said before reluctantly following them inside.

“I can smell her in here though.” Boyd said.

“Well we lived here for a few weeks, and then a few weeks after she disappeared so that makes sense.” Karissa said. “My sister stayed here while I came to Beacon Hills for the first time too.”

“Speaking of your sister, where exactly is she?” Derek asked.

Karissa turned to face him while Allison took a look around. “Just outside Beacon Hills, I’m not an idiot. Do you really think I would bring her back there after what happened? One of you would have killed her.”

Derek nodded a little, he understood that.

“Look, I’m sorry if I’m sarcastic or snappy but I’m not used to working with outsiders or werewolves, let alone men. It goes completely against my nature.” She said.

“I know.” He said.

They let their silent acknowledgements sink in and kept on with their searching until Allison came out of one of the bedrooms with a sheet of a map. “What’s this?” She asked, pointing to a small red dot in the corner of the page.

“How the hell did you find that?” Boyd asked and Karissa came over to take the paper from her.

“My dad taught me to survey every room I enter before touching anything. There was one book of supernatural fiction on the packed shelf. That was inside.” Allison said.

“What do you mean ‘one book’?” Boyd asked.

“The rest were all classical or feminist fiction, it stood out.” She shrugged.

“Supernatural fiction isn’t exactly something any of us are interested in reading, why would she hide this?” Karissa asked.

“We need to go there, it’s only about twenty minutes away.” Allison said.

“It’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s just a green spot of land on a map.” Boyd said.

“Yes, but it’s marked with ink, it was hidden in a book that no one would bother reading and yet it seems to be nothing. It’s suspicious.” Derek said.

“Back to the car then?” Karissa said.

“Definitely.” Allison answered.

 

* * *

 

 

The Denver campus was quite large and there were lots of people hanging out on the grassy stretches and reading in the shade of the buildings. Stiles and Cassie were just talking and talking about study while Isaac and Erica tried to do anything but.

Neither of them was overly interested in four years of study after high school. When the other two went off to the Criminology department they just lay around in the sun, constantly checking their phones.

Isaac kept thinking to himself that it was past midday and that they should at least be out doing something by now.

“You heard anything from Boyd?” He asked, squinting over at Erica.

She shook her head. “Nope. Well, apart from a text that said ‘nothing much yet, on the road again’. You heard from Scott?”

“He said ‘waiting to hear from the others’. Is it just me or do they really seem like they don’t want to tell us anything?” He said.

She shrugged. “Maybe they have nothing, I mean it is kind of a long time that she’s been missing.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“Don’t read into it Isaac. You’re just going to drive yourself crazy.” She said.

“Yeah… I know. It’s just so frustrating is all.”

“You’re still thinking about it, stop thinking about it.”

“I can't.”

“Well try then, think about something else.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, anything.”

“You’re not very helpful.”

“Yeah well you’re very annoying.” She said.

They lay in silence for a while after that, until Stiles and Cassie were standing over them and blocking their sun.

“You two enjoying yourselves down there?” Cassie asked.

“We were… now you guys are in the sunlight and it’s kind of bumming me out.” Erica answered.

Stiles sat down next to Isaac, sighing because the sun actually was quite relaxing. Cassie joined him and Erica propped herself up on her elbows.

“So, are you guys done with your walking and college-talk?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah okay, we’ll stop talking about it now.” Cassie said, kicking the underside of his feet. “What do you guys think about going to a party at Sigma Chi tonight?”

“What is that like a frat house?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, they have some kind of mixer tonight, mostly just booze and music, and a whole bunch of people.” She said with a shrug. “They’re usually pretty fun.”

“Well I have nothing better to do.” Stiles said.

Isaac chuckled. “Sure why not, Erica?”

“Have you seen the guys here? Sure, I’m in.” She said lazily.

“What about Aiden?” Isaac teased, earning him nothing more than Erica’s middle finger pointed in his direction.

“I’m not even going to ask about that. So it’s on for tonight then?” Cassie said.

“Guess so.” Isaac said.

“What is the matter with you guys? Get pumped!” She said with a smile and they all looked at one another. “Okay, _really_ who died?”

“No one died. Come on guys, college experience, can we just forget about everything else and do it?” Stiles said.

“Hey, hey, we said we’d go okay?” Erica said, “Calm down Mr College Boy.” She grinned.

“What are we having for dinner then?” Isaac asked and all three of them raised their eyebrows at him. “What? I’m hungry.”

 

 

* * *

 

Derek drove them all out to the spot marked on the map, or as close to as the roads would take them. From there they walked to the coordinates through the unfamiliar woods. Derek and Boyd had their senses on high alert, taking in everything around them.

Allison had stashed a bow and arrows in the car and had them with her as Karissa led them through the trees towards the marked spot on the map. They were all cautious; none of them knew what they were walking into.

“It’s just up ahead.” Karissa called, walking up a hill and trying not to slide on the slippery floor.

Allison followed quickly while the other two lagged behind a little. When they reached the top they both stopped to stare at a tiny cottage covered in climbing vines. Karissa’s eyes were shining, her pupils turned to slits.

Allison turned her bow to point low in Karissa’s direction, just in case something was to happen. “What is it?” She said slowly.

She blinked a few times and turned to face her. “A motel.” She said.

“You mean this is where…?” Karissa nodded.

“I can feel it. But there’s something else too, it’s not good.” She said, walking slowly towards the cabin.

“Wait,” Derek said from behind. “She’s right.” He lifted his nose to the air and the girls watched him closely. “Do you smell that?” He said, looking to Boyd.

He nodded. “Blood.”

“What kind?” Karissa asked, hope in her voice shot down by the flat look that Derek shot back. She nodded to him and exhaled heavily. “Well then we better get in there.” She said, walking straight towards the house.

The rest followed her, Boyd veering to the left on another scent that felt familiar to him. He couldn’t quite pick it because it was so faint but he only got a few feet forward before he was stopped in his tracks by an invisible wall and Derek turned to cock his eyebrow.

Boyd lifted his hand to the barrier and it was shocked back. He turned to look at Derek and Allison and Karissa were watching him now too.

Derek crouched by Boyd’s feet, noticing a black powder in the tufts of grass. They extended around in a large circle and he stood up, still staring down at it. “Mountain Ash…” He said quietly.

“Does that affect a Maeve in the same way as a werewolf?” Allison asked.

Karissa shook her head, “I don’t think so.” She walked over to Derek and Boyd and crossed the circle easily. “Nope, nothing.”

“Check the house.” Derek said, staring curiously down at the ash and waiting a moment before following the others up to the door.

“It’s open.” Allison said, the door creaking as she pushed it ajar.

There wasn’t much inside, just a bed and a small kitchenette with a door that must have led to a bathroom. There was a small table lying on its side and a broken chair next to it. There was no questioning a large red stain across the floorboards beside it, dried blood, and a lot of it.

Karissa’s eyes flashed again, her whole face contorted into a mask like her sister’s had done just last year and this time Allison had her bow raised as the young Maeve let out a strangled cry and clung to the bench in the corner. Derek and Boyd had their claws extended but it became clear that she wasn’t preparing to attack. She was distraught by the emotions and the sight that surrounded them.

It took her a few moments to control herself, her teeth clenched and her eyes red and damp as her face slowly became human once again.

“Can supernatural creatures… bleed out?” Allison whispered.

“It’s hard, but it can be done.” Derek said.

“There’s enough blood on that floor to―”

“You don’t have to whisper on my account. I can hear you and I want to know what you think, even if you think she’s dead. That’s her blood there, I know it is.” Karissa said.

“If that were a human’s blood then there’d be no chance of survival. But look…” Allison said, pointing down to the old stain on the floor. “There’s more than one distinct layer here, see how this part has an edge?” They all looked down, even Karissa. “This wasn’t all taken out at one time.”

“So what? You think someone bled her out… twice?” Boyd asked.

“Or three times maybe? To keep her sedated? I don’t know how it works but I’m sure even someone with supernatural abilities can't stay conscious without three quarters of their blood.” Allison said.

“They’d replenish it faster but you’re right.” Derek said.

“So what are you suggesting? That someone came in here while she was… _entertaining_ … and drained most of her blood onto the floor, _more_ than once and then… what? Took her away and left a nice little circle of mountain ash out front?” Karissa asked.

“I never said it made sense.” Allison snapped.

“Calm down, both of you.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down when the floor is literally coated in my mother’s blood.” Karissa said, staring down Derek with a menacing glare.

“You need a level head if you want to solve this.” Derek said. “Letting your emotions rule you isn’t going to help.

“That’s my nature. My emotions rule me whether I want them to or not.” She said.

“Take a breath.” Derek said and she turned away, trying to calm herself down.

“Does this mean that my mother could be alive somewhere out there?” She asked.

“If the blood-letting is being done just to keep her under sedation then it’s possible.” Derek said.

“Well who would do that?” Allison asked.

Derek turned to her. “I don’t know, but I don’t think the mountain ash outside is a coincidence.”

“So, what? Someone is out there hunting werewolves _and_ Maeves?” Boyd asked.

Derek shook his head with a furrowed brow. “I don’t know.” He sighed. “Check out the rest of the place and I’ll call Deaton. He’ll know more about this than I do.”

Boyd headed out to survey the land and the girls inspected the rest of the house while Derek got on the phone with a sinking feeling in his gut.

 

 

                Over the course of the afternoon Deaton had sent word to the rest of the pack in Beacon Hills and let them know what the others had found. They were meeting when they got back to town to discuss it all.

                Isaac had called Scott in the late afternoon but he hadn’t really said anything. All he had said was that they didn’t know much and about their meet-up. Isaac tried not to get annoyed but after he talked to Stiles who told him that Derek was just as cagey about it.

Erica told them that they should tell their respective boyfriends where to shove their crappy information and get drunk – which didn’t sound like a bad plan. Of course for Isaac that meant drinking more than would be available, but still.

They headed out to a local place for dinner – cheap ribs and a whole plate of chips because Isaac had an animalistic appetite. Erica barely had anything which Stiles thought was so she could get a buzz faster.

Cassie seemed to notice something not right with them but she didn’t say anything about it. She just picked up the conversation when it lulled. By the time they were done with dinner it was about the time the party would be picking up and so they headed over to the Sigma Chi house where they could hear the music pumping from halfway down the street.

“Okay so when we get in there we should find a point to be our home base.” Cassie said, her hair bouncing around her shoulders as her heels clicked on the pavement.

“Not sure I like the sound of _that_.” Stiles said.

Isaac chuckled a little and Cassie rolled her eyes a little. “Nothing sinister, just in case we get separated. Or you know, we could just meet up back at the motel if that happens.”

“Oh well that’s not bad.” Stiles shrugged, looking at his phone even though he knew Derek hadn’t texted him.

They made it to the door and headed inside. People were laughing and chatting and there were odd pockets of dancing throughout the place.

“I’m just going to go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” Cassie said.

As she walked off in between the people Erica grabbed a beer out of someone’s hand. They gave her a strange look but shrugged and kept walking while she downed the rest of it in one.

Isaac and Stiles raised an eyebrow at one another.

“What?” She said.

“Nope, nothing.” Isaac said.

“Damn right.” She said. “Your boyfriends still being assholes?” She raised an eyebrow.

They looked at one another and pulled a few faces before it went quiet in their little circle. When Cassie came back she was holding four empty cups.

“Come on guys, there’s a punch bowl back here.” She said, handing them each a cup and giving the bottle in Erica’s hand a glance. “Where’d you get that?” She asked.

Erica shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, it’s gone now.” She took the cup from Cassie with a smile and they followed her around the staircase and through the kitchen to the table that was covered in liquor and a giant bowl of punch with no ladle.

“Just dunk it in and go.” Cassie said, scooping some up with her cup.

They all followed suit and held them up to clink together with very little sloshing. It wasn’t too bad, sweet mostly.

They spent the majority of their time dancing a little while talking and Stiles may have gotten himself slightly tipsy. Erica flirted with a fair few college boys, she seemed to be having a pretty decent time. Stiles found himself dancing to his own beat when Cassie and Isaac began reminiscing about old times, going back to the punch bowl to get refills for the three of them.

It wasn’t until much later, when he realised that he was far too tipsy for the amount he had actually had to drink that the punch was probably spiked.

“I was wondering why I was feeling kind of… well something.” Isaac said to him when he mentioned it.

“You guys okay?” Cassie asked as she leant into their conversation.

“Is there any possibility that the punch could be… spiked?” Isaac asked.

“Oh… maybe, I don’t know. Look if it is I am so sorry that―”

“No, no, it’s cool. I’m just kind of… tripping out a bit but it’s actually kind of interesting.” Stiles said, looking off into the distance and Isaac just laughed, feeling its effects himself.

They were out late, really late, though after that little realisation none of them had anymore punch. Not that it mattered; there was more to drink and plenty to forget. Against all odds it turned out to be a great night and they didn’t end up getting back to the motel until half past one in the morning.

Stiles and Erica had their arms around one another’s shoulders, neither really sure of who was holding up whom. They were laughing to themselves and took an extra minute to get into the room because they were fumbling around with the key card.

They parted once the door was closed and Erica dropped down onto the bed and Stiles headed into the bathroom. He may or may not have fallen asleep in the shower for a good half hour before he got out and dried off, feeling surprisingly fresher than before.

“I cannot believe we were out this late when we―” He began but stopped when he saw Erica wipe her eyes with the back of her hand as she sat on the bed and faced the window. “Hey, you okay?” He asked.

“Don’t Stiles.” She said, trying to hide her shaking voice.

“Erica, no, what’s wrong?” He said, walking over to sit next to her on the bed.

She turned away so he couldn’t see her face put he put a hand on her shoulder to turn her toward him. Her eyes were red and glassy and the look on her face was so vulnerable that he swallowed hard. He hadn’t seen her look like that in such a long time, not since before she was bitten.

“Is there something wrong with me?” She asked so quietly that Stiles didn’t believe that it had come out of her mouth.

“What? No, of course not why would you even ask that?” He said.

“Why don’t I fit? Why is everything so complicated?” She said with a sniff, looking down at her hands.

“Erica, what’s going on?”

“You all think that I’m this person that I’m not, and you don’t even question it… you don’t question anything. You all just assume things about me that aren’t true.” She said.

“Like what?”

“Do you think I’m weak?” She asked, looking up at him with a tear trickling down her cheek.

“If this is about Derek sending us away this weekend then you shouldn’t even―”

“It’s not just that, it’s all of it. _I_ was the one who got myself attacked last year, _I’m_ the one who can't resist her urges… _I’m_ the weak one and you all just act like that’s an accepted fact.”

“That’s not true.”

“No? When I told you all about Aiden you barely even had to think about it before you were looking down your noses at me for something that wasn’t even true! And Derek – _god_ he drives me crazy with the way he treats me, like I’m going to screw everything up and make it all so much worse. I am _not_ weak but no one gives me the chance to prove that.” She sobbed.

“Derek is… well he has his reasons for the way he acts around you, and we both know that I’m a big part of that and I’m sorry. And you’re not weak, okay? You’re amazing and strong and I mean come on, you held this in all that time… that counts for something.”

“After I was bitten I knew I had to change myself.” She said with another sniff. “If you act like a bitch people respect you, they see you as strong. The second you show them you care they’re using it against you. I have been weak for my entire life and I thought that becoming a werewolf would change that…”

“Erica… you were never weak, even then. I mean hell, you survived it didn’t you? You got through it and came out even stronger. You’ve got confidence and a spark and you’re feisty as freaking anything.” Stiles said with a smile. “And I like seeing you when you care, kind of reminds me that you’re not all werewolf.”

“I just… I wish I knew where I fit in everything.” She whispered and Stiles put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

“With us, with our pack. I mean sure they’re jerks most of the time but they’re semi-decent jerks.” She chuckled a little and sighed.

“Thanks Stiles.” She whispered.

“Any time.” He said. “Wait, did I hear you say that the whole ‘you and Aiden’ thing isn’t even true?” He asked.

“No, it wasn’t. I was covering for Boyd. He’s kind of got a thing going with that little blonde one from Katherine’s pack, Daisy.”

“Seriously?” Stiles asked.

“It’s not just hooking up though, I think he really likes her.”

“That was a really nice thing you did for him.”

She shrugged. “Yeah well, I lied about sleeping with Aiden then but it turns out I don’t have to because I kind of am now.”

“You ― what? Oh, god, why?” Stiles asked.

“I figured everyone thought it was true, might as well get something out of being the black sheep.” She said. “Plus I just wanted to feel… something. Everyone is feeling something. I mean Scott and Isaac, and Boyd with Daisy… and you and Derek just… get each other and I feel like everything is just going under for me.”

“Derek doesn’t get me…” Stiles said with a sigh. “ _You_ get me… me and Derek are just…”

She looked up at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Slowly he dipped his head in and kissed her, very softly and just once, lingering on her lips before pulling away with a sigh.

“You just… _are_.” She said quietly and Stiles nodded. “You’re a good friend Stiles.” She whispered and leaned into his arms for a hug and he tried not to think about anything much as he comforted her, feeling her tears sinking into the fabric of his shirt.

 

Cassie and Isaac stumbled back into their room about the same time that Stiles and Erica did. Isaac’s head was buzzing and he felt like he was on a high.

“I think that cab driver was totally freaked out by us.” Cassie said, giggling as she kicked off her shoes.

“Yeah well with your face and Stiles’ jokes who wouldn’t be?” Isaac grinned and Cassie cracked up, throwing a shoe at him and missing because he had collapsed onto his bed. “You know this was actually fun.” He said.

The bed bounced a bit as she came over and jumped on the end, still giggling a little as she did. “I told you.” She grinned.

“Don’t be such a… cocky… person.”

“Wow, are you always this articulate when you’re drunk?” She asked.

“Only you would use a word like ‘articulate’ while wasted.” He laughed and before he had a chance to register what was happening her lips were pressed carelessly against his.

And he might later blame it on the alcohol or whatever it was that had been slipped into the punch but if he was honest, he kissed her back because for a moment he wanted to know what it felt like after all that time.

He legs were straddling him in an instant, her hands cradling his face as their tongues collided in a drunken mess that took too long for him to pull away from.

“Cassie… Cassie no!” He said, pushing her back and trying to sit himself up.

“Isaac you can't tell me you don’t want this…” She said, leaning in to kiss him again but he pushed her back.

“No Cassie, I’m― I love Scott… I can't do this.” He said.

“You know once you would have done anything to be with me…” She whispered, sitting up and off of him.

“It’s different now… I’m in love with someone else.” He said.

“Sometimes love isn’t always what it seems.” She said quietly, swaying a little as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Cassie, I can't…” He said, lying back down and staring up at the swirling ceiling. “I can't…”

 

* * *

 

Stiles woke up to a knock on the door of their motel room. It was still dark out and his head was pounding but he got up and walked over to the door, opening it to see Isaac standing there and leaning on the frame.

“Can I stay in here tonight?” He asked.

“What’s… why?” Stiles asked croakily.

“Just… please can I stay here Stiles?”

He nodded and stepped back to let him through.

“It’s three in the morning Isaac.” He mumbled.

“I know.”

“There’s only one bed, just get in.” He said, his eyes mostly closed.

“Why is there―”

“Clerical error. Just get in and we’ll all squeeze because that pull out is ridiculously uncomfortable.” Stiles said, letting Isaac crawl in beside Erica and then following suit.

“I don’t think this bed was made for three.” Isaac mumbled, already in a comfortable position and ready for sleep to take him.

“We’ll make do.” Stiles said, rolling over and trying to get back to sleep.

Isaac almost wished that he didn’t have to wake up in the morning as he slowly drifted onto unconsciousness watching the clock on the bedside table tick over and over and over.


	32. Chapter Thirty-Two

_“Have you heard of this before?” Derek asked._

_“Bloodletting? Of course. The practice has been around for hundreds of years though to be used like this… well, that’s less common.” Deaton said._

_“Have you ever heard of someone doing this to a supernatural before? I mean, could it be some other kind of creature?” Scott asked._

_“It’s hard to say, I would have to do some research but that doesn’t explain the mountain ash. Historically this was used to purge the body of poison or as a cure for some illnesses. It was a very unreliable method though. In terms of someone using this on the supernatural I have read of it being done as a way of torture. You see in most cases the subject won't die, they’ll just grow very weak and survive in a hazy state, or they’ll be rendered unconscious.”_

_“Well how long can that go on for?” Jackson said._

_“Until the victim’s body can’t take the stress anymore. For a werewolf that could last months, longer even, depending on how much blood is taken and how often.”_

_“So are you saying that my mother could potentially be alive?” Karissa asked, the hope coming back into her eyes._

_“It’s hard to say without any more information.”_

_“So let’s go through the scenarios then…” Lydia started. “One, your mother was tortured and killed by someone or something back in that cabin. Two, she was tortured and taken to another location for some other purpose – unknown as of yet. Three… anyone want to help me out here?” She said._

_“There’s too much to think about here, who, why, where… we basically just have questions with no way of answering them.” Jackson said._

_“Then let’s go with what we do know.” Derek said. “It was Dalia’s blood that we found, most likely having been taken over an extended period of time. There was mountain ash in a circle just outside, meaning that whatever this was that did this has a knowledge of other supernatural things. Her body is gone, probably transported somewhere else, alive or not.”_

_“She’s got to be alive.” Karissa said, her arms folded over her chest._

_“Well we need to cover all our options, even the ones we don’t want to.”_

_“Well then what the hell do we do?” She snapped._

_“We wait for the others to get back and then we make a plan.” Derek said._

_“Why do we have to wait? Why can’t we just start figuring this out now?” She said impatiently._

_“We are a pack, we make decisions together.” Derek said, not moving from his point and she seemed to understand._

_“Well I’m not going to stop looking. Call me when you finally decide to do something.” She said, turning on her heel and storming out of the place and Derek was left with just as many problems as before._

Derek woke after dreams of the previous day’s conversation. He rubbed his head and groaned, the whole thing was just another catastrophe to worry about. He looked over at the empty space beside him and sighed.

He’d thought a lot about him and Stiles, and he knew that he made the right choice in waiting for them to get back to make decisions. He knew that their relationship would have to deal with another hurdle if they had formulated a plan without him. He didn't tell him anything about what they had found during the day and that was sure to be a topic of conversation.

Karissa would be calling him instantly to find out what was going on and he would have nothing to say to her. He didn’t care though, there was too much to think about without her to deal with.

He sighed to himself and stretched out under the sheet. It was oddly eerie to have no other voices or sounds in the house. He was never going to admit it, but he missed having people there. The loft was cold and lonely and for a long time Derek had thought that it was perfect for him, now he wasn’t so sure.

 

* * *

Isaac woke up the next morning feeling groggy and ill, a heavy pressing on his chest from an invisible force, yet he knew exactly what it was.

Stiles was already up, he could hear the shower running and Erica was still beside him. She was curled up on her side with her eyes black and streaked from her smudgy make-up. He sat up on the edge of the bed and looked at the clock, it was almost nine. He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

His thoughts flashed back to the night before and he sighed. Three am was a _brilliant_ time to go to bed seeing as they had to be driving all afternoon. There were other things that he remembered from the night before that were less than brilliant. He wasn’t really looking forward to seeing Cassie again this morning.

Though his memories were blurred he distinctly remembered their mouths crashing together sharply and her hands on his body, groping and stroking and it made him feel sick to the pit of his stomach to think that for a second he had given in.

He hated that thought, hated it. He wished he could forget it ever happened, or even better, go back and stop it from happening.

He shook it from his mind and turned back to Erica, poking her gently in the arm. She startled awake and looked up at him for a moment.

“Why are you waking me?” She garbled.

“Time to get up, get breakfast and then check out. Got a lot of driving to do.” He said.

She groaned in response. “I don’t mind missing a day of school.”

“Well, they might have found something out.” Isaac shrugged.

“Did you get a text?” She asked, snuggling back into the covers and closing her eyes.

He bit his lip a little. “No, I didn’t.”

“Pretty sure I told you guys at some point last night that they can all go to hell,” she said.

“Pretty sure you were drunk at the time,” Isaac chuckled.

“True,” she shrugged. “Okay, I’m getting up.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched out.

Stiles came out of the shower not long after, already dressed and just gathering his miscellaneous crap to throw in his bag. Not long after nine there was a knock on the door.

Stiles walked over to open it to see Cassie standing there with a smile. “Hey Stiles, Isaac in here?”

“Somewhere, maybe.” He muttered, holding the door open and letting her stand in the archway.

“Hey Cass,” Isaac said, walking over to her. “I was just about to come back and gather up my things.”

“Cool, I’ll walk with you. Mine’s all bagged up by the door,” she said as they left the room to head back down the corridor in silence.

About halfway to the room, Cassie piped up. “Listen Isaac, about last night―”

“Cass you don’t have to―” He started but she cut him off again.

“I have no idea what happened,” she said.

“You don’t? You have no idea? I thought it was obvious.” Isaac said.

“You mean you remember it?” She looked up hopefully and he gave her a confused stare.

“What are you―”

“I can’t remember a damn thing after we left that place but I’m pretty sure I caused you some trouble on the walk home. I mean if I can't remember it I must have been a mess, huh?”

Isaac took a moment to think over her words. “You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember playing beer pong with that Spanish kid and then… well, then I remember waking up this morning,” she said.

His heart pounded a few times. “Nothing, you remember nothing?”

She narrowed her eyes. “No… why, should I?”

He shook his head. “No, no, I’m a little fuzzy on the details too,” he admitted.

“Great, that’s just what we needed,” she chuckled. “So did you head over to see them this morning? You were gone when I woke up.”

“Uh, yeah,” he lied. “Yeah I figured they’d still be asleep, which they were, so it’s a good thing I did I suppose.”

She smiled, “Yeah, well, get your stuff packed and we’ll check out, then we can get some breakfast and begin the long haul back.” She said as they made it to the room.

He packed up his stuff and changed his shirt and soon enough they were checking out and meeting in the lobby. It was breakfast at the waffle house again and then Cassie was showing Stiles around one more building before they started to long trek back to Beacon Hills.

He and Erica lay on the grass out front of the building while they waited and Isaac had a chance to do even more thinking.

He didn't think he could survive an entire car ride home with Cassie. She might have said that her memory was foggy – and so was his – but he remembered that kiss and he needed to talk to someone about it, or at least to be in a different car.

He turned his head to the side where Erica was lying with her eyes closed and her hands laid over one another on her chest.

“Erica?” He asked slowly.

“What?” she said.

“We’re heading off soon,” he said.

“Yeah, I know, what’s your point?”

“Can I ask you a favour?”

She turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “No.”

“Come on Erica.”

“Okay, fine, what is it?”

“Can you take the car with Cassie on the way back?”

She sat up on her elbows, her eyebrow still raised. “Uh… why?”

“Please? Look, I just need to talk to Stiles for a while.”

“For nine whole hours?”

“Can you please just do this one thing for me? I’ll owe you big time.”

“Is that the same as loving me long time?”

“ _Erica_.”

She sighed, “okay, fine. You’re lucky she’s not boring. And you’re right; you will owe me.”

“Thanks Erica, I mean it.”

“Yeah, yeah, Stiles is probably sick of me anyway.”

He fidgeted a little. “Would you… uh… I mean can you―”

“You want me to bring it up too, don’t you?”

“Yes please.”

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” she said as she went back to lying down flat.

After a while Cassie and Stiles emerged carrying their bags and headed over to meet them. Erica sat up with a smile. “Guess what?” She said in an overly chirpy voice. “Girl’s trip back, we’re switching cars.”

Cassie looked from her to Isaac, “you getting sick of me or something?” she grinned.

“No, no, it’s just that I know Stiles had something he wanted to talk to me about and so far we haven’t had the chance to do it.”

Stiles looked confused. “I did?”

“What about?” Cassie asked.

“Uh―” Stiles started.

“Relationship stuff, you know, Derek being emotionally unavailable and such,” Isaac said.

“Right, yeah, my boyfriend is silent and… emotionally constipated.” He offered.

“Oh, okay then. Girl’s trip sounds fun.” She smiled at Erica and the two of them started walking to the car.

Stiles walked over to Isaac and held him back a little. “Didn't know I was having relationship issues.”

“Shut up,” Isaac muttered.

“Just saying,” he said. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah everything’s all good.”

Stiles didn’t believe him but he knew he would get it out of him soon enough.

 

They headed out around one, Erica getting into the car with Cassie who shot Isaac a smile, and Stiles was still trying to analyse the whole damn thing. Best way to do that was to keep quiet.

For Stiles, that proved quite difficult.

They agreed a meet up at the same road house they had stopped at on the way over, it was about three hours into their drive. Stiles could stay quiet for only an hour of that, an extra half hour while he was humming along to the radio.

After that it was hopeless.

“Okay, dude, I’ve kept it together for this long but there is only so many rounds of crappy radio music that a guy can sing to before he starts asking questions and I can sing and think independently so I have a fair damn few questions bobbing around in my head, okay? Firstly, why are you so quiet? Secondly, why did we switch cars? Actually swap those two around. Third, you think Miley Cyrus knows that everyone is just waiting for the headlines about her OD or stint in rehab because that is all I think about whenever I hear one of her songs come on―”

“Holy shit – Stiles take a breath before you pass out and kill us both!” Isaac said, staring at him with his eyebrows sky high.

Stiles sucked in a few big breaths. “Sorry, just you haven’t said anything and I assumed that meant you wanted some quiet and if I don’t talk for a long period of time… well it still needs to come out somewhere along the line so Derek is probably in for it later… but anyway, you want to tell me what’s going on yet? You’re killing me.”

“I can see that.”

“Come on.”

Isaac sighed. “Okay, okay. Look, if I tell you something can you promise to keep it between us?”

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “What kind of something?”

“A pretty important something,” he said.

“If this is one of those things where I promise not to tell, and then it turns out to be something I need to tell Scott, but I can't because I promised _you_ , well that makes it a little awkward.”

Isaac just stared at him and Stiles sighed with a roll of his eyes.

“Just tell me Isaac, you can trust me.”

Isaac sighed, leaning back in his seat and staring out through the windscreen. “Cassie kissed me last night.”

“Holy crap, really?”

He nodded, “yeah, after we got back.”

“Holy crap… what like, ‘goodnight’ and a peck on the cheek or… you know, mouth, lips, the whole―” Isaac was just giving him a look and biting his lip so Stiles exhaled heavily. “I see.”

“That’s not even the worst part… For a minute I… I kissed her back.”

“You what?”

“I don’t know why I did it, I wasn’t of sound mind, it was Cassie… I don’t know what happened.” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated and angry with himself that he had done it.

“Look… sometimes things… happen. I mean Scott and Allison were on weird terms when you guys first got together. Remember the night we had that party? They were gone for ages… Old flames are weird.” He offered, trying to help. “I mean not that I know, I’ve never had one.”

“Still not the worst bit Stiles.”

“Oh god what? You didn’t screw her did you? Oh my god, Isaac, please tell me you didn’t do something _that_ stupid?”

“No! I mean, I pushed her off, I told her that I love Scott and that I couldn’t do it and I pushed her off… but then…”

“But then what?”

“Well that’s all I can remember until I showed up in your room,” he said.

“So you said no and came to see us, what’s – why is that so bad?”

“Because I’m missing an hour in my time frame here Stiles!” Isaac hissed.

“What?”

“We got back at like two am, when I got to your room you said it was three. I know we kissed as soon as we got back but I don’t know where that hour went.”

“Oh dude… you really do have problems.”

“You think?!” He sighed again.

“Look, you said it yourself, you pushed her off and told her that you love Scott; you wouldn’t have done anything more.”

“But what if I did? What if―”

“Isaac, listen, you wouldn’t do that to Scott, whether you were of sound mind or not,” Stiles said. “I know you’d never do anything to hurt him okay?”

“What the hell am I going to do?” He muttered to himself, leaning on his hand and staring out the window.

Stiles sighed because he didn't really have an answer.

“Look, while we’re confessing things… I uh, I kissed Erica.”

Isaac’s head shot in Stiles’ direction with his eyebrows high. “You did what?”

“She was upset, she was crying and I just – I thought it would comfort her. I mean it was totally friendly it was just… on the mouth.”

“You really think that was a good idea?”

“Hey, I’m trying to help here, don’t you get all judge-y on me.”

Isaac groaned. “How the hell did we get here Stiles?”

“What is this, an invisible Jeep?”

“ _Stiles_.”

“Because Isaac, we’re wired to make stupid decisions. It’s in our blood. With luck, we’ve got boyfriends who understand that we’re freaking idiots.”

“You really think it’s a good idea to tell Derek?”

“Yes Isaac, I do. Better he finds out from me now than if it slips out later. I think you should probably tell Scott too. I won't tell him, but I really think you should. He loves you, I’m sure he’ll at least… try not to be furious.”

“Well you’re totally helpful.”

“Hey, I’m at least trying to be. By the way, I wouldn’t tell him about the memory lapse thing if I were you.” Stiles said.

“Why? What the hell do you think I did Stiles?”

“Nothing! I’m just saying… you know what? Don’t worry about it, you probably just passed out,” he said with a sigh.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“I am right, I'm almost always right, except when I’m wrong, then I’m completely catastrophically wrong but―” He cut out at the glare he got from Isaac and nodded to himself. “You starting to miss the sound of my melodious humming?”

 

 

They didn’t talk about it anymore on the drive back. Isaac was pretty quiet the whole time and Stiles just told Cassie that he was tired when she asked if he was okay. He had to fight the urge to talk to Erica about it too. Keeping his mouth shut was an arduous process.

On their last stop before making it back to Beacon Hills Erica pulled Isaac away and weaselled something out of him but he was pretty tight lipped. It was late and all he wanted was to get back home and to see Scott. There was an ache in the pit of his stomach where he was missing him and a matching one on the other side where he was anxious about telling him.

He couldn’t stop beating himself up about what he did, he hated himself for it. Stiles could tell that he was upset and rambled on for what seemed like an hour about how he shouldn’t be so hard on himself.

Stiles worried about him.

Isaac was one of the nicest guys he knew, second only to Scott. He would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of their reunion but he had a reunion of his own to get to. So he dropped Isaac out front of Scott’s place and drove straight to the loft to see Derek.

He didn’t know how, but when he got out of his car and walked to the entrance to the elevator Derek was there leaning up against one of the poles. Werewolf ears couldn’t be that good could they?

He grinned at the sight of him, dropping down his bags and quick-stepping it over to him, crashing his lips against Derek’s smiling mouth. Derek chuckled against them and slipped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and kissed him deeper, the feel of his electric skin was something he had missed, even if it had only been a few days.

“I missed you,” Stiles mumbled.

“Are you coming inside or are we going to stand out here all night?” Derek replied.

“Hey, you’re the one who’s got me in his super werewolf grip,” he said as he wriggled about in Derek’s arms.

Derek laughed and let him go, walking over to grab his bag and sling it over his shoulder.

“Okay, now you’re just showing off.”

“Come on, let’s get inside.”

They headed up to the loft and Stiles went straight for the couch, collapsing into it with a contented groan.

“Your dad know you’re staying here?”

“Yes Derek, he does.”

“So how was Denver?” He asked, putting the bag down by the coffee table and sitting on the couch by Stiles, who looked like he was passed out.

“Good, yeah, it seems like a really great place. There’s so much stuff and the program is really practical, I mean you know me I like to be doing things as well as reading things.”

Derek nodded with a small smile, “that’s good.”

“Guess I’ve got to start writing my essays now, huh?” He sighed.

“As long as college is still what you want.”

Stiles looked up at him and rolled onto his back. “It is,” he said quietly.

Derek nodded again.

This was the time, Stiles knew it. He had to say something now or he might lose his nerve, and he had to do it.

Before he could say anything Derek stood up and cracked his knuckles. “Are you hungry? I don’t have anything here but we could call for a pizza,” he said.

Stiles just looked up at him for a moment before getting to his feet and wrapping his arms around his stomach and resting his head against his chest. Derek chuckled, his hands coming up to settle one on Stiles’ back and the other the back of his neck.

“You know, you're not that much shorter than me. You can hug me like a normal person,” Derek said, his fingers stroking gently through Stiles’ hair.

“I know, I just like listening to your heartbeat,” he said softly, closing his eyes and just focussing on the thump-thump. “It’s always fast. Is that a werewolf thing?”

Derek sighed gruffly. “No.”

“A Derek thing?”

His voice came out softer than he would have liked, a low mumbling sound emanating from his lips. “It’s a Stiles thing.”

Stiles’ grin grew just about as wide as it could get and he chuckled a little. “Well that was cheesy.”

“Yeah well, you're a bad influence,” he mumbled, leaning in to kiss the top of his head.

Stiles sighed and pulled away. “Derek, I gotta tell you something,” he said.

Derek just tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

“Listen, there’s something I have to tell you, and before I do I just want you to know that it was so… I mean it was nothing it was just this little thing and it really, really―”

“Stiles?”

“Yeah?”

“Just… out with it,” he said.

He sighed loudly. “Well, last night we all went out to this party, we think someone spiked the punch or something because we made the brilliant decision to stay out until like two in the morning or something, and then we got back to the room and Erica was crying and she was just so down and upset and I didn’t – I didn’t know how to help her and she just needed comfort and so… well I mean, I kind of… kissed her. Just a peck and yeah it was on the mouth but you know that if I tried to talk to her too much I would just make it worse because I _always_ make it worse and I thought,” he sighed again, mostly just to get some air into his lungs. “I just thought that I had to do something, you know? Shit, I’m just, I’m sorry, I know it was probably the stupidest thing I could have done but―”

“No you’re right, she probably needed it.”

Stiles leant back quickly and furrowed his brow. “She – what?”

“I have to talk to you about something too Stiles.”

Stiles felt his stomach hitch, _what the hell?_

“Hey, relax, your heart had been pounding more than Stiles fast for the last thirty seconds. It’s been up near ‘get some help’ fast.”

“I’m just – I don’t know where to start here,” he said, sitting back on the couch. “You didn’t try to take my head off after I told you I kissed Erica, and now you have to talk to me about something? You can't stand Erica, and you never _have_ to talk about anything.”

Derek folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t dislike Erica.”

“Uh, yeah, you kind of do. It’s not like it’s a secret that you come down harder on her than anyone else in this pack.”

Derek sighed, “do you want to know why?” He asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Yeah, if you want to tell me.”

“Out of all of you, she’s the one who…” he sighed again and looked away. “I’ve never met anyone who reminds me of Laura the way she does.”

Stiles felt his heart hitch again, he had never even considered that.

“It’s hard to take sometimes.”

“Derek… shit, I had no idea,” Stiles said quietly.

“It’s not that I hate her, it’s not that. I don’t want to talk about it more than that though,” he said and Stiles just nodded. “There’s something else I want to talk about.”

“Okay?” Stiles wasn’t sure how to feel about this.

“When we fought the other night―”

“Derek I said a whole bunch of shit I didn’t mean, okay? I was angry, don’t take anything I said to heart… or where ever it is that you take shit to.”

“I had time to think about it and then what you said about Erica―”

“It was just something I did for a friend! Hell, I woke up with Isaac spooning me, that was probably worse than the thing with Erica, not that I’m saying I should have done it because I know, it was stupid.”

Derek just stared at him for a moment. “I’m going to ignore most of that sentence.”

“Yeah, okay, sorry. You just never have anything you want to talk about and I’m just a little…”

“Hey,” Derek said, stepping forward and putting his hands on either side of Stiles’ arms. “I know you had a good reason or you wouldn’t have done it.”

Stiles still felt guilty, of course he did, but Derek still had something he wanted to say.

“What I wanted to tell you is that you’re right, I have had more experience, I had my time. I shouldn’t be trying to stop yours.”

“Okay?”

“When you do go to college… I don’t want to hold you back from anything.”

“Derek, you wouldn’t be,” Stiles said.

“You should have your college experience the way you want it Stiles,” he said, dropping his hands from Stiles’ arms and looking up at him tentatively.

“What are you trying to say Derek?”

“I’m saying that you shouldn’t let me be the reason you don’t get that. I’m not going anywhere, but if you want something, then take it.”

“Are you trying to say that if I want to do the whole sleeping around and partying and doing… god knows what else – are you trying to say that you’re _okay with that_?” Stiles was giving him a look of disbelief and Derek sighed.

“You haven’t done anything yet Stiles. You can't just think that this is going to be enough for you, one day maybe it won't be. You’re too young to be stuck here in―”

“Don’t tell me that I’m too young like I’m some freaking kid, I’m not, okay? You can't be giving me the ‘you’re too young to know what love really is’ speech can you? I didn’t think that was a thing anymore. I don’t want to be out screwing random people who don’t matter Derek, when I’m with you I don’t need that, I don’t feel the need to be with anyone else because shit, you’re more than enough for me!”

“I’m not saying that you have to, or that you should, I’m saying that I won't begrudge you that if you decide that you do want it.”

Stiles scoffed incredulously. “This is about the Erica thing isn’t it? I know I did a stupid thing and I have no excuse. And the thing with Karissa – well, I guess I have a pretty decent excuse for that one… but like it or not, all I want is you.”

“I know, I know that’s how you feel… right now. Things change sometimes Stiles, I’m just putting it on the table,” he said with a small nod.

Stiles sighed, wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck and nuzzling in. “Well, I’m taking it _off_ the table.”

“I’m stronger, I can put it back and hold you off,” Derek whispered back.

“Not if I put it in a circle of mountain ash,” he mumbled. “You might be stronger but I’m smarter.”

Derek chuckled and inhaled the sweet scent of Stiles’ milky skin.

“Speaking of mountain ash, I have a few things to tell you.”

 

 

Isaac stood staring at Scott’s door for a minute, his backpack hitched over his shoulder. In his stomach was a mix of dread and excitement to see Scott again. He exhaled heavily and walked up the porch steps to knock on the door, he left his key in his room back at the loft.

He knocked a few times and waited, after a moment or two Melissa opened the door with a smile.

“Hey Isaac, how was your weekend?” she asked as she pulled him in for an unexpected hug.

“Good, yeah, not too bad,” he said, hugging awkwardly back.

“Come on inside, you hungry?”

“Uh, no, thanks.  I’m all good. We ate on the way back.”

She ushered him in and locked up.

“I didn’t wake you up or anything did I?” he asked.

“Oh, no sweetie, I just got in from work myself.”

“Nothing weird and possibly supernatural happening around there now?”

She laughed and rubbed his arm a little. “No, no, just your average Beacon Hills intake,” she smiled. “I think he’s upstairs with a headset on.”

“Okay, thanks Mrs McCall.”

“Melissa,” she said.

“Right, yeah, thanks Melissa,” he smiled back before heading up the stairs to see Scott.

He could hear the distorted music playing, quietly of course, headphones and werewolf ears had a very delicate relationship. As he walked in a smile spread even wider across his face and he knocked on the open door, making Scott jump.

At first he thought it was his mom but when he saw that it was Isaac he smiled in his lop-sided way and tossed his headphones off, clambering up to meet him at the door. His parted lips found Isaac’s startled ones and he embraced him with a kiss worthy of any reunion.

His fingers laced in Isaac’s curly hair and he backed him up against the door with his hips. Isaac almost forgot everything that was going on, all he could think about was how good it felt to have Scott in his arms with his mouth just thanking him for coming home.

“Missed you,” Scott whispered against his lips.

“You too, like you wouldn’t believe…”

“College really that bad, huh?”

“Something like that,” he said.

There was something about Scott’s bright shining face that made him sad. He knew it wasn’t going to last because he had to tell him, and now.

“Look I, uh, I have to tell you something.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

Isaac turned his eyes away and slipped out of Scott’s arms to sit on his bed.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, no, uh… can you just, sit for a minute?”

Scott raised his eyebrows and came to sit by him slowly. “Okay…”

Isaac sighed, looking away and running a hand through his hair.

“Isaac you’re kind of freaking me out, your heart is like racing. What the hell is going on?”

Isaac didn’t look up at him, he knew he was giving him his big sad brown eyes and that would make him lose his nerve. Scott’s hand was gently stroking his knee and Isaac swallowed hard.

“Look, I don’t want to tell you this, really I don’t… but I think I owe you that much.” Scott just nodded, his own chest pounding frantically now.

Isaac launched into his confession, starting with the whole story of the weekend. They went out, the breakfast and how he and Erica spent most of their time bored and waiting for the other two to finish their trip around campus. Then he moved on to the idea about going to a college party, the music, the drinks, the punch that probably had a few pills dissolved in it – there was only a few more events to go before he got to the crux of it all.

“Anyway, it got really late, probably a bad idea because we had a long car drive the next day… and we stumbled back to the room and I just kind of fell back into bed…” he sighed, everything in him feeling ill at the thought of it. “Me and Cassie were just talking, just a little bit and then… and then she kissed me.”

Scott’s body stiffened and Isaac felt him pull his fingers off his knee and brace them against his own.

“She kissed you?” Scott repeated.

“Yes.”

“Did you…?”

“I kissed her back for like five seconds before I pushed her away, I told her that I didn’t want to, that I couldn’t and I feel so guilty about it. I swear Scott that’s not how I wanted things to go.”

He nodded a little, his brow furrowed. “So you didn’t… sleep with her?”

“No, _god no_ , never, I would never do that to you Scott! I pushed her away and told her that I’m in love with you and it would be wrong! Hell, I left and went to sleep in with Erica and Stiles. I know it was stupid and that I let myself get into that situation but you have to know that I would _never_ intentionally hurt you,” he pleaded.

Scott sighed, turning back to face him. “I know,” he whispered.

“I’m so sorry.”

Scott lifted his hand to cup Isaac’s face for a moment before pulling it back. “I told you she was into you.”

Isaac sighed, “I know, I know, I just didn’t see it like that… now…”

“Look Isaac, I get it, okay? Old flames are… weird.”

Isaac ran a hand through his hair. “Doesn’t excuse the fact that I let it happen.”

“Maybe not… but I mean… I know I messed you around a bit when we started with the whole Allison thing, and if I’m honest… she kissed me once too. You probably know when, that night before Christmas, before we even told my mom… I didn’t tell you because I was sure you thought I’d done worse anyway and that I was going to get back together with her but it happened and―”

“No, don’t you do that. Don’t you try to give me an excuse for this, I don’t want you to do that,” Isaac said shaking his head.

“I’m not Isaac, I just want you to know that it’s not so simple sometimes. I mean yeah it hurts… but I’ve done things to hurt you too.”

“Scott, don’t… this was my fault, okay? I put myself in a position to let something happen between us, I ignored the signs, I did the one thing I swore I would never do, and that was―” He looked away, his eyes getting involuntarily glassy. “And that was letting you down.”

Scott looked up at him, eyes soft and this time he covered Isaac’s hand with his own.

“You are the first person who… the first person I ever knew to love me. You’re the one person that makes me feel like I’m worth something more than that kid everyone else left behind. I let you down and I promised myself I would never be the person who disappoints the people he cares about, and I’m sorry that I fucked that up.”

Scott reached out to pull him into his arms and Isaac buried his damp face in the nook of his neck. “You made a mistake, you didn’t let me down Isaac, you could never do that,” he whispered, kissing his head. “There is nothing that you could do that could make me want to leave you. We can get through anything. I have faith in us Isaac. I love you; I’m always going to want to be with you. I promise I’m not going to be one of those people who leaves.”

Isaac closed his eyes, breathing in Scott and everything about him that felt like home. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.

“Don’t say that, ever. And stop trying to give yourself reasons to believe it.”

They sat like that for a while. Arm in arm and just holding one another. It had been a few moments before they pulled apart.

“How do I make it up to you?” Isaac asked.

“Well… there’s one thing you could do,” Scott asked, a little hesitant.

“Anything Scott, I mean it.”

“Could you… maybe just not talk to Cassie for a while? I’m not asking you to stop being her friend or to just drop her from your life because I know you can't do that… but just… until all the rest of this stuff is over maybe―”

“Yes, no, of course. It’s kind of… hard to look at her now anyway without feeling guilty.”

“I don’t want to sound like the guy who’s like, forbidding you from talking to your friends.”

“Seriously Scott, I said anything, and I meant anything. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Scott whispered before leaning in to kiss him on the mouth. “This wasn’t exactly how I was expecting this to go,” he chuckled a little.

“No, I guess not,” Isaac smiled weakly. “You might want to have a talk to Stiles too, I’m pretty sure we were spooning when I woke up.”

Scott let out a laugh, brighter than the last and finally more of the smile that Isaac had been waiting to see. “I’ll make sure to bring it up.”

“So… we’re okay?”

“Yeah Isaac, we’re okay,” he said, kissing him once more. “Besides, we’ve got bigger problems to deal with right now.”

 

 

* * *

 

“Honey, I’m home!” Her sarcastic voice rang out through the small house as she stripped off her jacket.

“How was Denver?” he asked, sitting at the bench and reading through an old leather-bound grimoire.

“Drab,” she said. “I picked up some new texts though. It’s getting harder and harder to sneak around up there.”

“I suppose that would happen under our circumstances.”

“Just because they don’t understand or comprehend our plight―”

“Don’t lose your head,” he snapped. “That’s going to kill you,  you know.” He still hadn’t looked up.

“My passion gives me strength,” she snapped back.

“Whatever, did you find out any more from your little friend.”

“He’s very quiet about it all,” she said, furrowing her brow.

“You haven’t deluded yourself into thinking that he doesn’t know about it all have you?” he asked harshly.

“No… no it’s illogical to believe he doesn’t,” she said, her chest tightening a little.

“Well did you find out anything?”

“Well, all three of them are a part of it somehow. The wolfsbane didn’t work. I put it in the punch bowl and it started to get to me too so anything else was a bust.”

“I told you not to drink it,” he said.

“I lost it for a moment, okay?” she snapped, her temper coming through.

“You can't afford to lose it!” he yelled, standing up and staring her down. “Not now, not when it’s all falling into place.”

“The blonde girl is definitely one of them,” she said.

He raised his eyebrows curiously, his mood instantly switching. “We can use that.”

“She’s insecure but strangely loyal. Don’t we have other species to worry about for the moment?”

“It pays to plan ahead, and the daughters have been careless. I knew they’d come back eventually, I just didn’t know they’d be looking for help with Hale,” he said.

“They went to them?” she asked. “I thought their species were very exclusive.”

“Exclusivity comes second to desperation apparently.”

“So you think we can use them to lure the two in?”

He grinned madly, “we have something they want more than an alpha at the end of his line.”

“How is our little friend doing?” she asked.

“If the volts still running through her are anything to go by, I would say slightly uncomfortable.”

“Good,” she said calmly.

“If we drain too much more blood it may break the barriers we put up. She wouldn’t be hard for them to track her then,” he said.

“Well then we make our plans now!”

“We aren’t doing anything without assurance,” he growled.

“Well if we stop draining her those volts aren’t going to hold her back. She’ll get to you.”

“So it’s settled, we sort this through tonight.”

She smirked, “Those monsters will be dead at the end of the week and then we can move on to new ones.”

He grinned wickedly, walking over to taker her by the hips and pull her into him.

She cringed inwardly, his touch like ice.

“You sure you’re ready?” he said with a seductive drawl.

“I can't protect monsters, no matter what Isaac’s ties with them are. He’ll understand what’s right in the end.”

Cal dipped his head to deliver a sloppy kiss to her lips and Cassie let him continue, hoping that her last statement would turn out in her favour.


	33. Chapter Thirty-Three

School always seemed like the strangest place to be when there was something sinister going on. Stiles and Isaac asked a million questions at lunch after Stiles spent most of chemistry filling Erica in on almost every single detail that Derek had given him the night before.

They were meeting at the loft that night, Karissa included. Something had to be done.

Boyd walked alone as he headed home for the afternoon. There were so many thoughts running through his head and he knew that many of them would be left unanswered. It’s funny, when he was a normal teenager all he ever wanted was to be different, and now all he wanted was to make it through school and get to graduation.

It was just one of those things.

A scent wafted over and engulfed him, familiar and sweet. He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Daisy standing behind him, her eyes wide and glassy.

“Hi Vernon,” she said with a small smile.

“Daisy,” he said, looking at her and waiting for… something.

The last time she sought him out was to tell him that he couldn’t trust her, that whatever they had couldn’t go on anymore.

“How have you been?”

“Busy,” he said.

She smiled a little, looking down with a nod. “I’m sorry for pushing you back, I never wanted to do that.”

“Well then tell me what you want Daisy. I really – I care about you,” he said.

“I know.”

He sighed. “Would things be different if we weren’t separated by our packs?”

She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I know that you all came here looking for more werewolves,” he said quietly and she pursed her lips.

Her eyes became glassier and she looked up as if trying to will her tears back inside.

“Daisy… I don’t care about that, I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot recently.”

Her eyes snapped to him and she shook her head causing two sparkling drops to fall down her cheeks. “Well stop.”

“Can you please just tell me what’s got you acting like this? Are you leaving soon? Does this make it easier for you?”

“No Vernon, it doesn’t!” she raised her voice and gave him an incredulous look. “Nothing about this is easy! I’m acting like this because I love you and now things are more complicated than they should have been to start with!”

He paused for a minute and she knew what she said. “So talk to me Daisy, I know you want to tell me what’s wrong here.”

“You don’t understand, and you need to tell your friend Erica – if you really care about her – you need to tell her to stay with her own pack.”

“Is this about Katherine?”

“She knows that the Maeve is here, and she knows that you’re working with her,” she said and Boyd stiffened up. “She doesn’t know why but I am telling you that you do not want to make her angry.”

He took a few steps towards her but she just turned on the side and let out a sob.

“You think we’re betas? Me… Aiden and Ethan? We’re not!” she said. “Everything is a power trip with her! Omegas are easy to control and if you exert enough pressure you can demote betas to these pathetic little lap-dogs… She doesn’t like when things are out of her control and Derek working with the Maeve has her crazy, even more eager for us to bring you in.”

“This has nothing to do with her, not unless you can tell me where Karissa – the Maeve – where her mother is then this doesn’t involve Katherine,” Boyd said.

Daisy spun to face him. “I thought they were roughly the same age?”

“Two of them are, sisters. They’re looking for their mother.”

Daisy’s expression turned to one of terror. “She’s not going to be happy… she’s going to kill me if she finds out I was talking to you about this. Vernon you don’t know what it’s like!”

Boyd reached out and took her in his arms and this time she let him, burying her head in his chest. “Daisy you don’t have to stay with her,” he said.

“You don’t understand, you don’t! She will do anything to keep us in her pack and even more to get you and Erica to join,” she sniffed. “She’s more paranoid than you realise. She has it in her mind that this Maeve is teaming up with Derek to take her down… and I’m scared someone is going to be killed in the crossfire if things heat up.”

“Come with me to talk to Derek tonight; don’t go back there with them. We can keep you safe, take you away from it all.”

“I can’t leave Aiden and Ethan alone with her.”

“Well come with me tonight anyway. You can tell her you were with me, that I’m thinking of joining your pack,” he said.

“Vernon―”

“Daisy, you came here to warn me. I know your senses are telling you that this would be betraying your alpha but it sounds like you don’t have a choice. Come with me.”

She sighed against his chest. “Okay,” she whispered.

He kissed her forehead and held her for a moment longer before letting her go and telling her to run with him. If they were going to do this they would have to get out plain sight and Boyd would have to call Derek with the news.

As if things weren’t already bad enough, now both of their problems were colliding.

 

“You brought her here?” Derek growled as Boyd and Daisy stood in his living room.

“Well what else did you want me to do? Leave her to Katherine? She came to warn us Derek!” Boyd said.

“If she knows you’re here then it will make it worse,” Derek said, pacing a little.

“That was my only reason not to come. I know the risk I’m taking,” she said, looking up at Boyd and taking his hand gently.

He sighed up at Derek who just folded his arms and stared right back. “You want to help then you have to talk to Karissa.”

“Derek you can’t just―”

“If she finds out that Katherine is out to get her she’ll act on her own. How do you think that will turn out for us if Katherine takes her down? Her sister won’t be happy and it will just give Katherine more reason to come after us,” Derek snapped.

“He’s right Vernon,” Daisy said. “Let me at least warn her. And I can tell you anything you want to know about Katherine… I just can’t watch her run her power games anymore. I’ve seen what you have and it makes me realise that I’ve been wrong this whole time.” Derek sighed a little but let her continue. “Me, Aiden, Ethan… we can’t do this anymore.”

“How do I know we can trust you?”

“Because if Katherine keeps going the way she is she’ll burn every bridge there is and eventually someone is going to end up dead, and I don’t want that,” she said.

Derek looked from her to Boyd and turned on his heel, walking over to the bench to grab his phone. “Well you can explain to Karissa why we’re going to have to take a break from looking for her mother.”

 

Derek didn’t tell anyone else that Daisy would be joining their meeting, no one but Deaton who he called over to join them.

“I don’t see the point in my being here Derek,” he said as he stood in the kitchen with Scott, Stiles and Isaac.

“Mediation,” Derek said, walking in from the lounge.

“Are you asking me to play neutral here?”

“It’ll have to be neutral fourth party though because neither Daisy _nor_ Karissa are really on our side here,” Stiles said.

“Do we really have to talk about it like that? Like there are a whole bunch of different sides?” Scott asked.

“Well, there kind of are,” Isaac said.

Derek just let out a little growl and Stiles walked over to put his arm around him. Reluctantly he let him.

Scott just sighed, “this is not how this year was supposed to go,” he said quietly to Isaac.

“Yeah, I know, but we have to deal with it now,” he said.

“Listen, I know this is causing you trouble but thank you,” Daisy said.

Derek turned to face her where she sat on the couch beside Boyd. He just nodded to her and Stiles squeezed him a little harder.

They waited for the rest of the pack to arrive and Karissa was the last one to show up, late as usual. This time she wasn’t alone.

“You smell that?” Jackson said between his teeth, leaning closer to Erica whose nostrils flared.

“Derek?” she said.

“Calm down,” he said flatly as the elevator doors opened and she walked through with her sister in tow.

Lydia turned up her nose and Scott snarled a little at the sight of her.

“Down boy,” Karissa drawled and Isaac grabbed Scott’s wrist so he didn’t do something stupid.

“You didn’t tell me you were bringing her,” Derek said.

“Yeah well, I was beginning to feel just a little too outnumbered and now you’re adding to your little group so how about we do some introductions?” she said with a smug grin. “This is Freya, my big sister, but some of you already know that.”

Freya sighed a little nervously, her hair pulled back in a dark ponytail and her eyes darting from one person to another, lingering a little over Stiles and Isaac. Stiles grimaced a little because as her eyes hovered over him he felt the sharp tips of Derek’s claws begin to jab him in the side.

He coughed a little and Derek pulled away from him, steadying himself.

“Who’s the newbie?” Karissa asked, her gaze turning to Daisy who stepped forward.

“I’m Daisy,” she said and Karissa just raised an eyebrow.

The two of them looked like polar opposites standing before one another. Daisy still in one of her summer dresses with her pretty blonde hair tucked behind her ears and Karissa in her black jeans and jacket, with big black combat boots on her feet.

“How sweet,” she said.

“She’s here with a warning, not as a threat,” Derek said.

“A threat? Believe me, I didn’t think she was,” Karissa said.

Derek could see the impatience playing on her features. She wanted help and she wanted it now.

“I’m not here for _you_ ,” Daisy said forcefully.

Karissa narrowed her eyes, “Well then spit it out…” she looked her up and down and smirked, “Summertime Barbie.”

Daisy snarled a little and her eyes flashed gold. “You really think I’m afraid of you?”

Stiles looked over to Deaton, “I think this is probably where you should jump in,” he said.

Deaton stepped forward slowly, “I think the best idea here is to remain calm.”

Daisy and Karissa both looked over to him.

“Who is he?” Daisy asked.

“I’m what you would call an emissary,” he said and Daisy nodded a little.

“Katherine definitely doesn’t know about you,” she said.

“I feel as though she knows very little about anything that she’s about to get involved in,” Deaton said.

“So she’s from another pack huh? Is this your warning? That they’re out to get me? To get us?” Karissa said. “How do I know it’s not you and your pack behind all of my problems anyway? How do any of you know that this little stunt isn’t just a big fat lie?”

“You saw the mountain ash, why would it be there if it was werewolves behind this?” Boyd snapped.

“Did you ever think that maybe it was just a coincidence? Or that it wasn’t my mother who used it to keep the dogs at bay?” Karissa said and now Derek was getting angry.

“ _Enough_!” he bellowed. “All of you. Arguing is the last thing anyone needs if we’re going to figure this out. There was a lot of blood in that house in the woods but no body, and you said your mother disappeared right around the time Katherine’s pack was making their way into town. There are places where things line up but we have to go through and rule out the things that don’t make sense.”

“You said you thought my mother could still be alive,” Freya said, speaking up for the first time.

“I did,” Derek said.

“Why would a power-driven alpha keep her alive?”

“Katherine has been with us the entire time, and I’m sure we would have smelt the Maeve’s blood if she was involve,” Daisy said. “And judging by how angry she was when she found out about you I would say she had no idea you even existed until about a week ago.”

Derek sighed, the whole thing was too complicated.

“Okay, so if we assume that Katherine had nothing to do with Dalia’s disappearance then maybe we can work on how to convince her that no one wants to… take power away from her, or whatever the hell it is she’s scared of,” Scott said.

“She wants a stronger pack,” Erica said with a roll of her eyes. “That’s why she’s here.”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “Why would being here make her stronger?”

“She knew that there was already a pack here…” Daisy said. “It’s easier to poach wolves who don’t need training than to make wolves that do.”

Derek looked between Erica and Boyd, “you both knew, didn’t you?”

“Not for long,” Boyd said sheepishly.

“I don’t think that is the big issue right now _Derek_ ,” Erica said.

“You gave your word, you said you would help me find her,” Karissa said.

“Don’t you think I’m trying to do that? I’m trying not to get you killed in the process!” Derek said, raising his voice.

“For all I know my mother is already dead, so why the hell would I care about myself?” she said, squaring up to Derek and for a moment he understood exactly how she felt.

“I hate to be the one to bring bad news but I don’t think we’re alone here,” Lydia said, staring out through the window with a nervous look on her face.

Isaac walked over to her and his skin turned cold. “It’s Katherine,” he said.

“And the twins,” Lydia added.

Derek growled under his breath and Daisy had a look of worry on her face as she took a few steps back from the group.

“I told you I shouldn’t have come here with you…” she said, her worried look turning to fear.

“We won't let her hurt you, she won't touch you Daisy,” Boyd said, turning to her.

She shrugged away from him and Karissa raised an eyebrow. “What is it with wolves and possession?”

“An alpha is the commanding force of the pack, going against the alpha’s order is… well, as a beta or an omega the last thing you want is to face the alpha’s wrath,” Deaton said.

“She’s waiting for us,” Isaac said quietly.

“What the hell does she want? A war?” Karissa asked.

“She doesn’t play like that, not against all of you, she’d lose,” Daisy said.

“Come on,” Derek said, heading for the doors.

“What, are we just going to go down there?” Scott asked.

“Most of us,” Derek said, looking from Stiles to Lydia.

“Humans stay here?” she said.

Allison folded her arms and Stiles shrugged a little.

“It might be the wisest idea,” Deaton said.

So Allison, Stiles and Lydia stayed back with him as the rest of them headed down. Karissa refused to be held back and had no reservations about a physical confrontation. Scott gave Isaac a look to say that he really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Daisy wouldn’t let Boyd hold her hand, clearly anxious as they walked out and around the building to where Katherine stood with Ethan and Aiden at her sides.

“You know Derek, I’m sure that we had a talk and all I asked was one simple thing of you,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. “I asked that you stay away from my pack and you clearly didn’t listen.”

“I don’t take orders, least of all from you,” he said calmly.

Daisy’s heart was pounding rapidly from in between Boyd and Jackson and her hands were shaking visibly.

“And I see you have other friends too,” she said, her nostrils flaring as she looked to Karissa and Freya.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call us friends,” Karissa said and her sister held her wrist tightly, giving it a tug.

“Well whatever you are, I want you to stay away from my pack, _Daisy_!” she hissed out her name and Daisy flinched. “Come here.”

She breathed in deeply and held her ground, making Katherine’s eyes glow red.

“Well it seems like you didn’t do much to help your rule. I know why you came here, I know you used your pack to try and draw in mine,” Derek said and Katherine’s lips curled up into a grin, bearing her elongated teeth.

“Do you know just how close it was to working?” she said.

Daisy looked up at Boyd and Aiden locked eyes with Erica from across their void.

“I don’t care,” he growled.

“ _Daisy_!” Katherine said again and this time Daisy took a few tentative steps.

“You can’t go back to her Daisy,” Boyd said, taking her hand.

“Ethan, _go_ ,” Katherine said, her voice deep and slightly animalistic.

He walked purposely forward but something in his eyes looked almost like an apology. Boyd tried to step in front of Daisy but she put her hand on his arm, her eyes glassy as she looked up at him.

“Just let go, Boyd,” she said softly.

Jackson stepped in front of Ethan’s path, his eyes glowing blue and his claws extending from his fingertips. Ethan kept walking until the two were squared up before one another.

“Jackson,” Derek warned.

“You think you can do anything here?” Ethan taunted. “You think you have any control over this?”

“I think you can step away from me, now.”

Ethan shook his head, “I bet you think you have some kind of control over your friend Danny too. I wonder what he’d do if he was faced with a question of you or me?”

Jackson roared in his face, grabbing Ethan by the shirt and throwing him backwards. He stumbled but just got back to his feet, his face contorted and his own eyes glowing.

“ _Jackson!_ ” Derek growled as the two of them began swinging fists at one another.

Erica broke from the ranks and ran over to tear Ethan back from him. He swung his arm out, clipping her in the jaw and spinning her once before she turned back to him with a growl and Katherine jutted her head towards them. Aiden ran over, grabbing Erica by the waist and pulling her back, throwing her against the ground.

Isaac left Scott’s side to help Jackson with Ethan as Boyd held a protective arm around Daisy. Erica let out a shrill growl at Aiden and ran for him but he was stronger and faster and had her arms pinned behind her in two quick moves. Derek strode towards them, ready to tear him away when Katherine was standing by the two of them and with a click she had a gun cocked at the side of Erica’s head.

It stopped them all in their tracks. Karissa took her sister by the hand and Ethan stopped struggling against Isaac and Jackson. Daisy clapped a hand to her mouth and Derek looked more confused and angry than any of them.

Katherine smiled, “I might be a werewolf, and an alpha at that, but even I know I’m outnumbered here.” She looked over at Erica, whose face was back to human and her chest heaving nervously. Aiden looked almost scared of where this would go. “How well do you think this _beta_ would fare with a bullet in her brain?” She said, pushing the barrel even harder against her temple.

“Put it down, now,” Derek growled.

“Daisy, Ethan…” she said with a smile.

Ethan shrugged the two boys off, walking back to stand by Katherine a little nervously. Daisy pushed Boyd back from her gently, leaning up to kiss his mouth quickly before nodding to him.

“It’s okay,” she said as she walked away from him and over to Katherine.

“Let her go Aiden, she’s not going anywhere fast, well, not physically anyway. Don’t think about rushing me Derek because as fast as your reflexes are, mine are just as good.”

He let her go, stepping back slowly.

“You might be lax enough to let your pack members slip through your ranks but I’m not,” Katherine said. “And I’ll protect mine through whatever methods it takes.”

She looked over at Erica held at the end of her gun and narrowed her eyes.

At that point everyone but Deaton came running out into the open space, clearly having been watching from the window.

“If you pull that trigger I’ll―”

“You’ll what Derek?” Katherine snarled. “There’s more than one round in this gun and these are some special bullets that I picked up on my travels, so if you make one move I can have four, maybe five of you down in seconds.” She looked over at Stiles, Allison and Lydia. “ _You_ might be able to heal, even with these bullets, but I don’t think all of you share that trait.”

“You want me to take her down, I’m sure I’m stronger than this _bitch_ ,” Karissa said, spitting the last word out from between her teeth.

Katherine’s glare turned on her, “Ah the Maeve, at last we meet. How’s your mother?”

Freya wrapped her arms around Karissa who screamed and yelled and kicked at her sister while snarling at the she-wolf.

“Karissa, don’t! _Don’t_!” she said, squeezing her tighter until she calmed down.

“If you had anything to do with my mother going missing I swear I’ll turn you inside out,” Karissa hissed.

“Noted,” Katherine said. “Now, I’ll put down the gun when you’re all back inside your humble little abode.”

“I’m not moving until you take down that gun,” Derek said.

“You want to stay? Fine, but the rest of them go.”

“Scott, take them all inside,” Derek said.

“Derek I―” Scott started, wanting to insist that they keep the numbers even but Derek wouldn’t let him finish.

“Take them inside,” he said, his eyes never leaving Erica’s.

She whimpered a little but swallowed down any tears she had in favour of shaky breaths.

“All of you, go, _now_!” Derek growled and they slowly began to retreat.

Freya pulled her sister along, knowing that it would do no one any good to make a fuss now. Katherine waited until they were all out of sight and until she heard the elevator doors close before she gave Derek a sweet smile.

“This doesn’t end here Derek,” she said. “You had better tell every single member of your pathetic little pack to watch themselves.”

“You came into my town, you sent your pack to the same school as mine and you tried to poach them from me. You have no right to threaten me,” he said.

“Well I guess that’s where you and I differ Derek, I’m proactive, I take charge and when I have the chance to take control, I do it. So I’ll threaten you all I want,” she smirked, looking him up and down. “Your eyes may be red but you’re no alpha.” She looked to Erica and tapped her with the end of the gun. “Go on then,” she said.

She kept the gun trained on her as Derek held out his hand, nodding to Erica. She took slow steps forward until she was able to put her hand in Derek’s and he pulled her in wrapping his arms around her as she let out a sob, clinging tightly to his chest. He put one hand on the side of her head and let out the breath he had been holding since Katherine pulled out her weapon.

He eyed her cautiously as she held to gun out at arm’s length, still pointed at them.

“Now follow the rest of them. Go,” she said, smirking arrogantly.

“Come on,” he said softly to Erica, pulling her slowly backwards.

He didn’t notice the claws on Katherine’s spare hand start to extend as she lowered her gun. He certainly didn’t expect her to swing her arm around and drag her claws down the side of Daisy’s face. Erica yelped and Daisy screamed, clutching at her face while Katherine just looked at her with contempt.

“That’s the last time you go against me,” she said. “Keep walking Derek.”

She didn’t look up again and Derek pulled Erica with him as they retreated to the loft. As soon as they were around the corner he held her up against the wall, hands on either side of her face.

“You’re okay, you hear me?” he said, “You’re okay.”

A tear rolled down her cheek as she brought her breathing back under control.

“I never thought of us as monsters…” she said, “but that _bitch_ lives up to the name.”

Derek smiled a little, “Bitch or monster?” he asked.

She smiled back, “Monstrous bitch.”

They both laughed for a moment before he pressed his lips to her forehead carefully.

“You’ve got to try and help her, Daisy, if you can,” she said as he walked her to the elevator. “You can’t let Katherine treat her like that.”

“And what about the other two? Ethan? Aiden?” He raised an eyebrow as he said that last name.

“I don’t know about them, either of them, all I know is that Daisy wasn’t meant for shit like this.”

Derek just nodded to her as they began their ascent.

When they reached the landing Boyd and Stiles rushed over to Erica and Deaton gave Derek a nod, a small sign of respect.

“What the hell was that?” Allison asked.

“Whatever the hell it was, it wasn’t good.” Lydia said.

“I swear if she has anything to do with my mother going missing I’ll tear her to shreds,” Karissa said.

“We’re going looking, tomorrow. The only logical conclusion is that she’s here in Beacon Hills. We’ll find her.” Derek said and Karissa nodded. “Stiles, take Erica home, Boyd, you come with me and I’ll drop you off at her place. I don’t want her alone.”

“Derek I’ll be fine,” Erica said.

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” he said. “The rest of you, get some sleep, and be careful. I don’t want anyone travelling alone. Katherine is getting reckless and she’s taking risks. I don’t want blood to be spilt over this.”

Slowly they all filed out of the loft. Even without Derek’s words, none of them wanted to be alone anyway, some of them having seen through the loft window what Katherine did to Daisy. It wasn’t long until it was just Isaac and Scott left standing there.

Scott exhaled heavily and collapsed onto the couch.

“This is starting to get ridiculous,” he sighed.

“Do you think she would have done it? Pulled the trigger I mean,” Isaac asked.

Scott shrugged, “I don’t know, she seemed pretty serious.”

“She seems kind of psychotic if you ask me.”

“Yeah, I’m not arguing with you there.”

Isaac walked over to kneel by Scott, running his fingers through his hair. “You think we could ever just be normal? You know, for like, a week or something?”

Scott smiled, closing his eyes at the gentle touch. “I thought we did have a few weeks there where it was normal.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that, can things just stay normal for a change?”

Scott chuckled and then let out a heavy sigh.

“You okay?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah, just stressing out is all.”

“I know, I think tonight just made it worse for everyone,” Isaac said.

“Not just that, I have a chemistry test tomorrow.”

Isaac just laughed and leant in to kiss him softly. He hummed a little and sighed, only just now realising how tired he was.

“You know,” he said croakily, “If this were a cheesy lifetime movie I’d say you need a massage or one of those things where they put the cucumber on your eyes.”

Scott laughed, “Yeah, or a really hot bubble bath.”

Isaac snorted and rested his head on Scott’s chest, his lips slowly spreading into a grin.

“You know, Derek has a bath in his bathroom…”

“I think there are enough things out to kill us right now, do you really want to add Derek to the _top_ of the list?” Scott said.

“Oh come on, it could be fun. I’m sure we could both fit in there,” he said, propping his chin up and grinning even wider.

“You really do have a death wish don’t you?”

“I’m sure it’s the last thing he’ll be worried about right now and you need to relax. Come on, he’s staying at Stiles’ tonight.”

Scott’s own smile broke its ranks, “you’re serious?”

“Deadly serious, let’s be a cheesy lifetime movie rather than a B grade horror for once.”

They managed to find some bubble bath – it may or may not have just been detergent – and Isaac went in and started to fill the spa-bath with hot water. It was clearly big enough for two – as long as they didn’t mind touching.

It felt like they were sneaking into their parents room while they were out for the night, something about it was rebellious and it felt nice to just forget about everything for at least an hour, or until the water went cold.

When Scott came in Isaac was already submerged under the steaming water and had his head resting on the side.

“I thought this was to help _me_ relax?” he said, cocking an eyebrow before pulling his shirt over his head.

“It is… it’s just _so nice_ ,” he purred. “Come on, strip down and join me.”

He opened his eyes to watch and Scott just shook his head as he undressed and kicked his jeans to the side. Isaac winked as he stepped over the side, sliding in to sit in front of him leaning his back against his chest.

“It’s not _that_ kind of bath,” Scott said, feeling a solid poke into his back.

“Hey, you just got naked in front of me, I can’t help it,” Isaac said, wrapping his arms around his stomach, holding him up just enough that his head stayed above the water.

“You’re right, this is nice,” Scott murmured.

“Told you,” Isaac said. “Derek is totally going to kill us though.”

“ _Now_ you agree with me,” Scott muttered.

“You think him and Stiles use this thing?”

“Oh god, don’t.”

“You think Derek is a bubble bath kind of guy?”

“Isaac stop!” Scott laughed.

“Ooh,” he said, looking over Scott’s shoulder, “bubbles have shifted.”

“You’re terrible,” he said.

“I know, but at least now you’re only thinking about me.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

They sat in there and just talked for a while, Scott having to slap Isaac’s hands away from him a few times, causing them to have to take some time out mopping up the water from the floor once they were dressed again. Isaac was right, it had made Scott relax for a while, but not long enough.

They headed downstairs to watch a movie, a good one, nothing crappy or cheesy, and it was barely an hour before Scott’s phone was ringing.

“Your mom?” Isaac asked as he reached over to the coffee table to check the caller ID.

Scott’s brow furrowed, “No, it’s Jackson.”

He answered it with apprehension, Jackson never called him. “Jackson, is everything okay?”

“Do you think I would be calling you if it was?” he barked, “Lydia just snapped.”

“She snapped, what do you mean ‘she snapped’?” Scott asked and Isaac looked just as confused.

“We went to have an early night and then she woke up just… screaming blue murder. She just kept saying she had to go, she had to talk to Allison and just grabbed her shoes and ran,” he said.”

“She ran? What happened Jackson?”

“She got into her car and just left! I’ve been calling her but she won't pick up.”

“I’ll call Allison,” Isaac said.

“I heard that, don’t you think I’ve tried?” Jackson growled.

“Well we’ll try again,” Scott said and they waited as Allison’s phone rang out and went to voicemail. “… and again,” he said and Jackson just groaned.

Isaac called one more time and this time she picked up, “Okay, alright, you guys know some of us have normal sleep patterns don’t you?” she said.

“Is Lydia with you?” Isaac asked.

“Lydia? What, no, she went home with Jackson,” she said.

“You sure she’s not on her way to your place?” Isaac asked.

“She’d be there by now, Allison’s place is only a five minute drive from mine, less. It’s been nearly fifteen minutes,” Jackson said.

“What’s going on? Is she okay?” Allison asked, starting to get worried.

“She said she was on her way to your place, she freaked out or something,” Scott said.

“Well she’s not here, he car isn’t in the driveway either,” Allison said.

“If she’s not with you then where is she? Where the hell is Lydia?” Isaac asked and he and Scott shared a very nervous gaze as the phone lines went silent.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four

As if the night hadn’t already caused them enough trouble, now Lydia was M.I.A.

Jackson was on his way to the loft and so was Derek and Stiles – much to the Sheriff’s discontent. Erica and Boyd decided to take a step back on this one, and Allison was waiting at her place in case Lydia happened to show up but it was looking less and less likely.

“She said she was going to talk to Allison so why the hell would she go anywhere else? Where else is there that she could go?” Scott asked as he paced back and forth.

“You can’t work yourself up like this, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for it,” Isaac said.

“Reasonable? Like what Isaac, she just stopped off for frozen yoghurt after waking up screaming?”

“I don’t know Scott don’t take it out on me!”

“I’m sorry!” Scott walked over to Isaac and hugged him, sighing into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I just… Katherine threatened us, all of us, I don’t want to think that these two things are connected but I just can't help it.”

“I know,” Isaac said softly. “I know it’s hard not to think about it but we can’t start believing that her threats have anything behind them.”

The doors to the loft opened up at that moment and Stiles came running frantically inside.

“What the hell is going on with Lydia? Is she okay? Have you found her?” he asked.

“If they knew anything they would have called us Stiles,” Derek grunted.

“If this is that alpha bitch I swear I’m going to―”

“What Stiles? What are you going to do?” Derek said.

Stiles just huffed out a loud sigh. “Well I’m going to invest in a whole heap of wolfsbane that’s for sure.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Isaac said. “I mean you’re pretty clumsy.”

“Jokes? Really?” Stiles said.

“All of you just shut up,” Derek growled. “Scott, you’re coming with me to follow the scent from earlier, the one from Katherine’s pack.”

“Are you sure that’s a smart idea?” Isaac asked.

“Someone has to do it, if they went anywhere near Jackson’s place we should know,” he nodded but Isaac just shook his head a little. “But how do we even know that we can track them? The scent is hours old now.”

“The blood,” Stiles said, realising it at that moment. “Katherine scratched Daisy across the side of the face there’s bound to be some of it left out there.”

“If she’s done anything to Lydia she’s not going to get away with it,” Derek said.

“I don’t mean to step in on your whole hero parade here,” Isaac started. “But she woke up screaming and then left, how do we know she didn’t just freak out about something?”

“Uh… because she never showed up at Allison’s place and according to Jackson she seemed _pretty intent_ on getting there,” Stiles said sarcastically.

“I’m not saying don’t worry, I’m saying that following the trail of that pack could end up making things worse,” Isaac huffed.

“The two of you, stop arguing and wait here for Jackson. Scott, let’s go,” Derek said.

Scott sighed, walking over to kiss Isaac on the cheek. “We’ll be fine.”

“Don’t do anything without calling me first,” Derek said as he opened up the doors. “I’m talking to you Stiles.”

Stiles just scoffed. “Yes, I hear you.”

The two of them stayed silent as they left the loft but once they were alone they both let out identical irritated groans.

“I’m calling her again,” Stiles said.

“She hasn’t picked up for anyone yet, why would she pick up this time for you?”

“Because I’m five times more persistent than the rest of you,” he said as he put the phone to his ear.

Isaac sighed and folded his arms, watching him until he heard the ringing go straight to Lydia’s voicemail. Stiles yelled at his phone and threw it roughly onto the couch.

“Don’t say a fucking word,” he said.

It wasn’t long after that Jackson showed up, storming in and looking around the loft. Isaac and Stiles were sitting on the couch and one of the armchairs.

“He’s not here,” Isaac said, flicking out his claws and retracting them back in again.

“Well where the hell did he go?”

“Him and Scott went to follow Katherine’s scent, you know, in case they had something to do with it,” Stiles said.

“Well where are they, let’s go!”

“We’re not going Jackson,” Isaac said.

“You think I’m just going to sit here with the two of you?” he asked.

“Dude, you seriously have anger issues,” Stiles said and Jackson turned to face him with his nostrils flaring.

He stalked over and grabbed the front of his shirt roughly in his fist. “You think I should just sit around and do nothing like the two of you while Lydia is―”

“Jackson! Hey! Stop it,” Isaac said, dragging him back and standing in front of Stiles. “This… it doesn’t help anyone.”

Jackson just snarled a little and started pacing around.

“You know you guys don’t have to keep saving me all the time,” Stiles said, straightening out his shirt. “You also don’t have to keep treating me like a ragdoll either but you know, just saying.”

Isaac shook his head. “You want me to call Scott?”

“Find out where he is, I’m going out there.”

“Jackson, you’re too pissed off about this, you’d just make it worse,” Stiles said.

“Find out. Where he is,” Jackson said through gritted teeth.

Isaac sighed and shook his head, taking out his phone to dial when Stiles’ phone began to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the caller I.D.

“It’s Lydia,” he said, standing up abruptly and hitting the green button before Jackson could snatch it out of his hand. “Lydia?! Lydia where are you?”

“… Stiles?” her voice was high and shaky and both Isaac and Jackson stood around him to listen.

“I’m here, I’m here… Lydia are you okay?”

“I just… I was on my way to see Allison and I… I―”

“What is it Lydia? Where are you?” Jackson said.

Stiles waved his arm at him to shut him up.

“I’m… I don’t know I was driving to Allison’s and when I got out of the car I ended up here! I don’t know, I―”

“Lydia just calm down, are you okay?” Stiles asked.

“I think so I just don’t know how I got here!”

“Okay, can you send me a picture of where you are on maps? We’re coming to find you, just stay in your car and don’t drive while you’re like this,” he said.

“Okay, okay!” she said and hung up the phone.

“Lydia are you―” Stiles started but she was already gone.

“I’ll call Scott,” Isaac said quickly, his phone already to his ear.

“Could that alpha bitch have done this to here?” Jackson asked, his face still contorted with rage.

“How the hell am I supposed to know that Jackson?” Stiles asked impatiently and his phone gave a little ping.

He had to dodge Jackson who tried to snatch it from him before he opened it. Jackson looked over his shoulder and both of their brows furrowed.

“Is she― where is that?” Jackson asked.

“It’s in the middle of the woods…” Stiles said quietly.

“Derek says to forward him the message and he and Scott will go,” Isaac said.

“Give me the phone,” Stiles said, holding out his hand impatiently and Isaac handed it over. “Derek?”

“Stay there Stiles,” Derek said.

“What? No! Why should we?”

“It could be―”

“Dangerous? I’m aware of that Derek, we can help.”

“Stay. Where. You. Are. All of you,” he said before he hung up and the line went dead.

Stiles let out a frustrated grunt and handed Isaac the phone for him to shove back in his pocket. “Derek says to stay put.”

The three of them sighed, leaving the loft in silence. Stiles reluctantly forwarded Derek the message and Isaac looked from one to the other.

“We’re not really going to stay here are we?” he asked and they all looked up for a moment before heading straight for the door.

“It’s not that far from here, let’s take my car,” Jackson said.

“Really? I mean that’s an expensive car you really want to―” Stiles began.

“Fine, if we’re taking your heap of shit I’m calling shotgun,” he growled.

“Derek’s going to kill us, isn’t he?” Isaac asked.

“Screw Derek,” Jackson said. “Shut up Stiles.”

“I wasn’t _even_ going to make a joke,” Stiles groaned as they climbed into the jeep and he handed the phone to Jackson to navigate.

They were only about five minutes out from the spot. Isaac warily looked about at the path they took and became even more confused with every mile. Why would Lydia have driven out to the woods in the middle of the night… _alone_?

“Okay, I can’t really get further than this, the trees close in,” Stiles said as he pulled up outside the line of trees.

“Hey isn’t that Lydia’s car?” Isaac said, looking off to the left.

Stiles couldn’t see it but took their word for it, scrambling to keep up as they ran towards it.

“She’s not here,” Jackson said, worry creeping back onto his features. “You told her to stay in her car!”

“Well I’m sorry she didn’t listen to me, does she ever listen to you?” Stiles griped.

“I can smell her perfume, she can’t be far,” Isaac said.

It was then that the three of them heard an almighty scream. It pierced the air and seemed to shake the leaves from their branches. Stiles’ eyes widened and he tried to look around to see where it was coming from and Jackson and Isaac both clapped their hands to their oversensitive ears. When it finally faded Jackson’s face was white as a sheet.

“That was Lydia… _Lydia_!” he screamed. “LYDIA!”

He and Isaac took off in the direction of the scream and Stiles groaned as he tried to follow them, lagging miserably behind. He ran as best he could, catching sight of Lydia’s strawberry blonde hair and skidded to a halt, almost falling over Isaac’s feet.

“Lydia! Lydia?” he said at the look of complete horror on her face.

He then looked at Jackson and Isaac who were staring off in the same direction, mouths dropped and completely still. Stiles followed their gaze and felt his stomach drop out from under him.

Pinned to one of the trees by a dagger to the throat was a very beautiful woman, her dark hair and pretty features familiar but her face wasn’t one that they knew. Under the dagger her throat was slashed and her clothes were soaked in blood. Her skin was pale and her eyes were devoid of all light as they hung open, staring straight through them.

“Holy shit!” Stiles said.

“You think that’s…” Isaac began.

“Maeve…” Lydia whispered, tears dropping from her eyes as she blinked quickly.

Stiles swallowed as he fished about in his pocket, not really able to take his eyes of the sight before him. He pulled out his phone and looked down at it only to select Derek’s number.

He picked up after two rings. “Yeah, Derek? You’re probably going to be pissed… but you need to get out here, _fast_.”

He was pissed in fact, but it lasted barely any time at all. The moment his eyes caught the sight in front of him he dropped his anger and sighed wearily.

“Do you know how you found her?” he asked Lydia who just shrugged and shook her head.

“I was on my way to Allison’s and I ended up here,” she said.

“Lydia your car is like half a mile that way,” Stiles said. “Why the hell didn’t you stay in your car?”

“I just… I heard, something…” she said, her face contorting into frustration. “I’m sorry I just – I can’t remember…”

“Come on, we’re getting you out of here,” Jackson said, taking off his Jacket and throwing it over her shoulders.

“Wait,” Derek said. “You were never here, as far as anyone outside this pack is concerned, you never found this body.”

“Believe me Derek, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have,” she said before pursing her lips as she and Jackson headed back to her car.

“Is this the part where we call the cops or…?” Scott asked.

“No, there’s someone else we need to call first,” Derek sighed, knowing that this would in no way be easy.

He made his call, Stiles could tell from the stony look on his face that he was dreading this whole thing. They waited out by the jeep, Isaac and Scott leaning against it and Stiles keeping an eye on Derek who had his senses fine-tuned.

It took a while and the minutes dragged on as they waited and Stiles knew just by the way the others reacted that they had arrived. Karissa and her sister came storming into the clearing.

“Where is she?” Karissa said.

Derek sighed and turned around, walking in through the trees and once they were closer Karissa and her sister sped up, obviously their senses finally picked up her scent.

“Oh my god…” Karissa choked, tears already brimming in her eyes.

Freya was frozen to her spot, staring blankly at her mother’s body, eyes clouded over as her pupils turned to slits.

“No!” Karissa screamed.

Derek turned his eyes away, knowing perfectly well how they were feeling, the emotions running through their veins. Nothing compares to it, nothing ever could compare to it. Karissa let out a screech that Derek felt in his core, her eyes turning into cat-like slits as she fell to her knees.

Isaac, Scott and Stiles had stayed at the jeep and even they could feel the pain in her wails. They rang out through the haunted silence like tiny knives splitting the air around them.

Derek tried not to watch, tried to let them have their moment as Freya wrapped her arms around Karissa’s shoulders, holding her tightly as she screamed and wept, trying to comfort her.

After what seemed like a long while the screaming stopped, it was just a gentle sobbing before Karissa took her sister’s hand and the pair stood up, turning their eyes away from their mother’s body.

“Who did this?” Karissa said, squaring off to Derek.

“We don’t know,” he said.

“Well how did you find her? How long has she been like this!” She hissed.

“Karissa, do you really think it was him?” Freya asked frantically. “Why would he agree to help us if he was going to kill her?”

“We were following Katherine’s scent and then we caught onto something else. We thought she had gone after one of our pack members,” Derek said.

“It’s not a very werewolf way of killing a person,” Freya said, looking over at her mother from the corner of her eye. “Who did this?” she said softly, looking to her sister who was quietly seething as she shook her head.

“Whoever it is, I’m going to slice them open and rip them apart from inside out until they’re nothing,” Karissa spat.

Freya hushed her a little, trying to calm her. “Remember…”

“How am I supposed to stay calm? Can you not see your mother pinned to a _fucking tree_?!” she cried.

“I understand how you feel,” Derek said and Karissa looked over to him before erupting in a fit of laughter.

She was actually laughing, and not just a chuckle, not a mildly amused giggle, she was laughing manically and even her sister was looking at her with complete and utter shock.

“I’m sorry, did you just say that you understand?” she asked incredulously. “How could you _possibly_ understand? I don’t see any members of your pack mangled in the woods, I don’t see any blood from your side spilled. All I see is my mother’s dead body, torn apart and humiliated in front of a pack of werewolves and anyone else who wants to see. Don’t you dare tell me that you _understand_ this!”

She snarled up at him but he kept his stoic gaze, ever the master of control. “When I was about your age my family was killed. All but three of us, burned alive in my home by my girlfriend, who happened to be a hunter. The only ones who survived were my uncle and my sister Laura. My uncle was so badly burned it took him six years to heal and by then he was barely human. He killed my sister to take her power,” she swallowed hard and looked a little sheepish as he spoke. “If there’s one thing I understand, it’s loss.”

“I knew your mother was dead I just didn’t…” she sighed. “I want to know who did this, I want them to pay.”

“I know,” Derek said, and for the first time Karissa actually believed him.

“So what, are we calling the cops now?” she asked, wiping the tears from her face.

“It’s not up to me,” he said.

“Call them,” Freya said. “Least we can do is have her… taken down, made to look like herself again.”

“Do you know who to take her to?” Karissa asked.

“I have a few numbers,” Freya nodded, wiping her eyes and sighing hard to try and stop them. “Maybe if the police know they have a killer hanging around they might help you flush them out.”

“Don’t let them catch them, I want to be the first one to serve this fucker justice,” Karissa spat.

“I think what you’re talking about is revenge,” Derek said.

“Whatever you want to call it, I’m not leaving this town until I get it.”

“Can I at least close her eyes?” Freya said quietly, looking back over to her.

Derek sighed and nodded, “I don’t think the police will see you as suspects, even if they do find fingerprints.”

The two girls took one another by the hand, walking slowly over to each run the tips of their fingers over her eyelids. They whispered in unison, a Latin phrase that no doubt held great meaning. Derek didn’t listen to the words, it wasn’t his place.

As they walked back towards him they tried not to look at her and Derek could just feel the agony in the air.

“So…” Karissa said, sniffing a little. “This could be one of two things, the way I see it.”

“And they are?” Derek asked.

“One, that alpha bitch, possibly with help from her pack. Two, an outside group, targeting my species, maybe yours too,” she said. “Hunters of some kind.”

“One of the girls in your pack belongs to a family of them,” Freya said, giving him a cautious eye. “How do you know they aren’t behind it?”

“Allison is a member of my pack. It’s just her and her father now, they have a code.”

“Codes get broken Derek,” Karissa said. “Surely you know that…”

He sighed, wishing he hadn’t told her about his own family.

“They don’t have anything to do with this.”

“Well another family then?” Freya asked.

“I can talk to argent, see if he knows of any,” Derek offered.

“Do it tomorrow,” Karissa said, walking back in the direction of the clearing. “I’ll meet you back at your loft at eight.”

“Why would you still want to help us?” Freya asked, looking up at him with confusion.

He sighed, “After what you put us through last year, I don’t know. I’ll see you at eight.”

He followed her back and when they made it to the edge of the trees she nodded to the others as she walked past, Freya did the same. Derek heard her make an anonymous call to the police as they walked further away. Soon enough they were out of earshot and for all intents and purposes, gone.

 

***

 

Stiles stayed with Derek that night, partially because taking him home would mean admitting that he had lied about staying at Derek’s for the night, but mostly because neither of them really wanted to be alone.

Derek lay in bed reading while Stiles took a shower. It took him longer than usual to get through his pages and there was a lot of unnecessary sighing taking place. When Stiles was done he stood in the doorway between the bathroom and bedroom just looking over at him and Derek looked up.

“Do werewolves ever need glasses?” he asked and Derek just raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you asking about that?” he asked.

Stiles shrugged, walking over to hop up onto the bed in just his boxers. “I was just thinking that you’d look hot in glasses, square black frames… I don’t know,” he said with a smile as he leant over him to catch his mouth in a kiss.

“You can’t honestly be thinking about…” Derek said, his fingers gently reaching up to cup Stiles’ jaw.

“God, no,” Stiles said, plonking down beside him with a sigh. “No, after tonight I am so far from the mood it’s not funny.”

Derek wrapped his arm around him and pulled him closer, sliding his book onto the bedside table. He kissed his forehead and just leant there for a moment.

“My dad’s pretty pissed,” he said. “I mean I do kind of need to study. But that seems kind of irresponsible given the circumstances, huh?”

Derek chuckled a little. “Only you would think it was irresponsible to be studying, Stiles. He just wants you to get good grades… and get into a good college.”

Stiles groaned. “Please, can we not have the college argument right now?”

“I’m not saying anything else,” Derek said. “Bigger problems.”

“I wish I could do more to help,” Stiles said quietly.

“Hey,” Derek turned to look at Stiles, running his hand down his arm until it was linked between Stiles’ skinny fingers. “You always have the answer, whether you mean to or not.”

Stile laughed. “Thanks Derek, that’s so sweet.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.”

He snuggled into him tighter, settling into his side to listen to his steady heartbeat.

“Do you think that whoever it is that killed Dalia has a bigger list?” Stiles said in barely a whisper.

“Yes.”

“No doubt huh?”

Derek shook his head wearily. “Can you promise me something Stiles?”

“This isn’t one of those ‘stay out of trouble’ things is it?” he asked.

“I mean it Stiles,” he said.

“Sure Derek, what is it?”

“If this does turn into something worse, I want you to promise me you’ll put yourself first. If it comes down to the wire, protect yourself. Let me worry about everyone else.”

“Derek you know I can't just―”

“At least just…” Derek raised his voice as he cut him off. “Can you at least lie? Promise me, even if it is a lie.”

“You know when I’m lying Derek, I can't lie to you.”

“Try,” he said. “For me.”

Stiles sighed, “Okay, I promise that I will do everything I can to stay out of harm’s way and if I happen to find myself there, I won't make it worse.”

“That’s the best I’m going to get, isn’t it?” Derek said.

“You knew what you were getting into when you started chasing after me,” Stiles teased.

Derek nodded a little, “Yeah, I guess I did.”

If only everything else were as simple as that.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Five

“So let me get this straight,” Cassie said, her boots resting up on the table as she leant back in her chair. “We kept this thing alive, tortured her, took her blood, and held her hostage for weeks, almost months, just to slit her throat and string her up in the woods?”

“You know, it would help if you would listen to me when I explain things to you,” Cal said, spreading out maps and photos on the table with a scowl shooting across to Cassie.

“It would help if you explained them _better_ ,” she narrowed her eyes at him, tapping a pencil against her teeth.

“We held her until the right moment,” he said. “Long enough to draw the other two in, so when they saw her there, saw what we did to her,” he grinned, the image flashing across his eyes. “They got angry and now they’re riled up. It’ll make it easier to lure them in. Any little thing we leave for them to find, they’ll follow.”

“And then we’ll move on to the wolves?” she asked.

He nodded, turning around to take the beer off the kitchen bench and took a sip. “We’ll start with the smaller pack.”

“Why not Hale and his lot? They’re connected to the two Maeve’s, won't that be easier?”

"They’re stronger, we haven’t dealt with a pack that big before,” Cal said.

“We don’t know that all of them are wolves yet, some of them are human,” Cassie said and Cal rolled his eyes a little.

“You hoping lover-boy’s not involved in this?” he sneered. “He’s involved.”

“I know he is, that doesn’t mean that he’s one of them.”

“Believe what you want to believe,” Cal said. “They’re too strong for us to test out our methods on them, we need a smaller pack, one that will be easier to manipulate.”

“We’ve dealt with wolves before, they weren’t so difficult to dismantle.”

“Lone wolves, packs are different. Didn’t you listen to what Stancliff taught you?”

Cassie dropped her eyes from his gaze, staring at her feet up on the table. “Of course I did,” she said quietly.

“We go for the smaller pack first, then once we’re done with them we’ll move onto Derek and his lot. Right now we need to focus on the two subjects we have left.”

“We still have their mother’s blood stored up right?” Cassie asked and Cal nodded. “What are you doing with that again?”

He shrugged, “I’m using some of it for our immunity and the rest… I have a buyer to send it to. I told you that stuff was worth a fortune.”

“It should be,” Cassie smiled a little.

“It’s not worth as much because she hadn’t been feeding traditionally, at least not in the last few months,” he said. “Now we have to work out a plan to lure in the others, any ideas?”

“Well, your first plan worked a charm,” Cassie grinned.

“I don’t think it will work on these two, not in the state they’re in.”

“Why not?”

“They’re not going to care very much for a sad, scared little girl.”

Cassie narrowed her eyes at him, “I am _not_ a little girl.”

His hungry eyes travelled down over her body and back up to her eyes. “No, you’re definitely not.”

He rounded the table and she slipped her legs off, sitting up straight backed in the chair. He squared up to her, placing two fingers under her chin and tilting it up to look at him.

“So do you have any ideas?” he purred.

She flicked an eyebrow, “One…”

“So tell me…”

“We’ve been tracking them for a while, when was the last time you saw one of them… sate their desires?”

He grinned, “Go on…”

“It’s only a matter of time before they have to, you know they can't restrain themselves. So when the first one cracks, maybe it’ll be your turn to lure one in.”

“Now,” he said, slipping his hand inside her jacket to brush over her bare shoulder. “You’re thinking.”

* * *

 

Chris Argent showed up at the veterinary clinic just after midday, Derek and Deaton already waiting inside.

“I hear you have a bit of a situation on your hands,” he said as they walked through to the back.

“Something like that,” Derek said.

“Well, what do you need from me?” he asked.

“Information?” Deaton said and Chris just raised an eyebrow. “We were hoping you knew of some other families or groups with whom you share a common profession.”

Chris nodded, knowing what he was asking. “How about we start with the whole story, Allison didn’t explain much to me in detail.”

So they regaled him with the facts of the last year and then again about the most recent events. Even Chris seemed a little confused but he stayed quiet until Derek was done.

“So where is the Maeve now?” he asked.

“I would say probably in the morgue,” Deaton said.

“And the two girls?”

“I try not to ask them too much, one of them has a fiery temper, the other one seems to have calmed down a bit since her actions last year,” Derek said.

“Tell me about the mother, how was she killed?”

“We can’t be sure, we know she must have had her blood drained at least once. When we found her blood in that cabin it was more than enough to be fatal but her body couldn’t have been dead more than a day when we found her,” Chris nodded again so Derek continued. “Her throat was slashed and she was pinned up to the tree with a dagger through her neck. Other than the blood she seemed quite clean.”

“Well, they could have been bloodletting, that would help keep her strength down. They also could have used electricity. That’s generally the way we would do it. I have heard that Maeve blood fetches a fair price in some black markets, it could be a group of illegal traders,” Chris offered.

“Do you know of any rings that operate around here?” Derek asked.

“A few, I try not to get involved if I can help it. We used to grow our own wolfsbane to use so we didn’t have to run in those circles,” Chris said. “We usually only need to if we run low on mountain ash.”

“I have a supplier a few towns over,” Deaton said. “I can enquire about the blood if it helps.”

“So long as it doesn’t put you in danger,” Derek said.

“I’m a regular customer and rarely ask questions, I’m sure this one won't hurt.”

“What about groups of hunters?” Derek turned to Chris who let out a heavy sigh.

“I know of a few,” he said. “There’s a family in Mexico, a few scattered through Chicago, might be one left in Atlanta. There used to be some in Montana and Colorado but last I heard they were all dead, and not through natural causes,” he sighed again, the pressures of having a sideline job like his were not few in number.

“In my opinion this seems like more than just a simple case of hunters,” Deaton said. “The way you described Dalia’s body sounded more like a ritual or a symbolic killing rather than the way a hunter would take down a werewolf, or any other type of creature.”

“Some of us had more traditional views,” Chris said. “Quite a few have beliefs that overlap with others, witchcraft and the likes. I once knew a guy who thought if he killed a wolf in a certain way it would give him more strength to take down the next.”

“It’s not witchcraft,” Deaton said with a smile. “You use mountain ash, wolfsbane, you’ve seen the effects of such things and there are many more natural substances that can affect the supernatural. It’s proven that energies can be transferred, and there are people like me who practice the religion of the old druids to draw on that natural energy, that power. Personally I’ve tried to distance myself from such things, they tend to attract trouble.”

“Well based on what you’ve told me I can only assume that whoever is behind this does more than just hunt down the supernatural. Like you said,” Chris looked to Deaton, “When people dabble in this kind of thing it leads to danger.”

“You’ll check in to those old families you know of then?” Derek asked and Chris nodded.

“I’ll help you, only because I know my daughter isn’t going to step back from this even if I ask her to, and I’d rather know the ins and outs than have to worry about her.”

“She’s got a lot of spirit,” Deaton said.

“She gets that from her mother,” Chris said and the room went quiet for a moment. “I’ll see what I can do.”

So they had Chris as an ally for now, and hopefully he could point them in the right direction but for the moment they were no closer to solving anything. Derek felt like he needed to communicate with Katherine about everything but she had proven that she was flighty and untrustworthy so he said nothing to her.

They were in for a long journey to come.

 

 

“You sure you’re okay Lydia?” Stiles asked as they met up for lunch in the cafeteria. “I mean you did kind of find a body in the middle of the woods without any direction.

“Stiles, stop asking me about it. I’m fine, it’s not like it’s the first time something strange has happened to me,” she said, sitting down at one of the benches.

“True, you… you did kind of help bring back Peter. Thanks by the way,” he said.

She gave him a glare that turned his blood to ice and he put his hands up in surrender.

“Has anyone talked to the psychopath about any of this? Or about the _other_ psychopath?” she asked.

“The other alpha?” Stiles said through a mouthful of tuna-salad.

“Yes, the other alpha. As I recall he seemed quite taken with her,” she said.

Stiles shrugged, “I try to avoid him as much as possible so I don’t know.”

“Well maybe someone should talk to him,” she stared at him expectantly and he just scoffed.

“Oh no, not me. Maybe you should do it, he seems pretty smitten with you.”

She gave him another death glare and Jackson came to join the two of them.

“Dude, that’s the ball-shrivelling look, what did you do?” he asked and Lydia rolled her eyes.

“I just suggested that she have a word to Peter about the other pack because he seems to like her more than the rest of us,” he smiled.

“Okay,” Jackson said. “I don’t have a ball-shrivelling look, but I have Italian leather shoes and a kick that will do more than shrivel your limited supply.”

“Oh my god, I was joking. Jesus…” Stiles said.

Lydia stared ahead for a while, her lips pursed and he mind ticking over.

“You know,” she said after a moment. “It might not be such a bad plan.” Stiles and Jackson stared at her incredulously and she just sighed. “I _mean_ , he might have some information about her that we can use, and you’re right, he doesn’t seem to despise me all that much.”

“Nope, no, not happening,” Jackson said.

“Well I wouldn’t go alone, you could come with me. Or I could take Allison.”

Stiles cleared his throat a little and Lydia just smiled.

“Please, he’d just manipulate you to get some kind of information to Derek. I don’t have an extra angle.”

“Whatever, he won't just tell you something he knows for free. Do you have any interesting information to trade?” Stiles said.

“You’re not serious about doing this are you?” Jackson asked.

“Why not?” Lydia said.

“He’s a fucking nut-job!” Jackson said.

“Then come with me,” she said.

“This is ridiculous,” Jackson griped, but it wasn’t a ‘no’.

“You know how to contact him?” Stiles asked.

“Isaac does,” she said. “We’ll go tonight.”

“This is not going to be a productive event,” Stiles said and Jackson reluctantly agreed.

 

 

“Have you heard much from Daisy?” Isaac asked Boyd as they walked with Scott to the parking lot after school.

Boyd shook his head, “Not a word.”

“Yeah well I wouldn’t be rushing to talk to you either, not after what happened to her,” Scott said.

“Erica hasn’t heard anything from Aiden either,” he said.

“Yeah well that’s not surprising. He seems like kind of a dick,” Isaac said.

“He is,” Boyd agreed.

“Does anyone else have a bad feeling?” Erica said as she bounded up behind them. “By the way I also agree with the fact that Aiden is a dick.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Isaac said. “What do you mean ‘a bad feeling’?”

“No, I get it, I have a bad feeling too,” Scott said. “It’s like I know this week isn’t going to be good, it’s like we found one body and in our experience bodies usually come in groups.”

“He gets it,” Erica said with a grimace.

“You think we’re going to be out on patrol tonight?” Isaac asked.

“Hey, Derek’s not going to stop me. If there’s someone out there I want to find them before they find me,” Erica said.

“She has a point,” Isaac said with his big bright eyes as he looked over at Scott’s concerned face.

He sighed, “Maybe, but we don’t even know what we’re dealing with.”

Erica groaned loudly, “I am sick and tired of hearing you guys say that! If we don’t know, let’s check it out! We can’t keep sitting at the loft together having sleepovers like ‘ooh, I wonder what this is, ooh, maybe we should wait until one of us is dead.’ No, I’m done with that.”

Isaac fluttered his eyelashes at Scott who knew exactly what he was trying to say. _Let’s try Erica’s idea_.

“Even if you were going to do that, where would you even start?” Boyd asked.

Erica shrugged. “The scene of the crime.”

 

 

“You know you might be a genius, but this is a stupid plan,” Allison said.

She sat in the back seat of Jackson’s Porsche as she rode with him and Lydia to what they assumed to be Peter’s apartment downtown. Lydia rolled her eyes from the passenger seat and hushed Jackson when he tried to agree with Allison.

“Well then why are you here?” she asked.

“I’m not about to let you deal with him without ample back-up,” she said with a shrug.

It didn’t take long to get there. They buzzed the apartment number and were let up immediately, no confirmation needed. It was a nice building, quite new, well furnished. Peter’s apartment was much the same. It was immaculate.

The room was styled to perfection, it looked like something out of an interior design catalogue. It didn’t even look like anyone lived there and the three of them were beginning to wonder if Peter really did, or whether it was just a decoy to keep them from knowing his real place of residence.

“You know, this looks like the kind of place that a serial killer would live,” Jackson hissed.

Lydia rolled her eyes, “In case you forgot, he sort of _was_ a serial killer.”

“Great work Lydia, that’s really comforting,” Allison said.

“No need to bicker,” they all spun around to the kitchen where Peter was leaning up against the wall. “It’s really not a becoming trait.”

“How do you do that? How do you manage to sneak around without me hearing you?” Jackson asked.

Peter smiled, “years of practice.”

“Can we skip the pleasantries, please?” Lydia said, folding her arms.

“Lydia,” Peter said, his smile growing even larger as he took a few steps toward her. “Always lovely to see you.”

He stopped in his tracks when Allison extended her arm in front of her, and electrified baton in her hand. Peter shook his head with a few tuts and looked up at Jackson.

“Can’t protect her yourself?” he said.

“Do either of them look like they need protecting?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t suppose they do.”

“Just get straight to the point,” Allison said.

“Well, what is it that you want to ask me?”

“We want to know about Katherine and her pack, and we know that you were keeping tabs on them,” she said.

He looked at her as if he was confused – a clear deception. “Did you not have a recent interaction with her?”

“We did, but that doesn’t mean that we know any more than you,” Lydia said. “At least not about her and her pack.”

Peter cocked an eyebrow, a smirk on his lips. “You certainly know how to keep a man interested.”

Jackson growled a little and it made Peter’s smirk grow.

Lydia narrowed her eyes and smiled. “What can I say, I don’t sit on the sidelines any more, I’ve learned how to play the game.”

“Well then, I guess we have a conversation to hold,” he said. “Perhaps we could make it a little more private?”

Allison upped the power on her baton and Peter shrugged a little.

“Fair enough,” he said. “This alpha doesn’t respond to reason, she goes by her own rules and doesn’t really stand for insubordination.”

“That much… we know,” Lydia said.

“Well her original plan has been scrapped, she’s plotting something new, something fresh,” Peter said and Lydia just shook her head at him with a little huff and he rolled his eyes. “She’s planning an attack against Derek, and I suppose that means the rest of you too.”

“Why are you only telling us now?” Jackson asked.

“I only just acquired the information. I don’t know how successful she’ll be, her betas are a little flighty, but they’ll fight if she tells them too. I have to admire her training.”

“You know she’s violent with them, right?” Allison said.

Peter shrugged, “If it works, it works.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her, it’s not like we have nothing better to do,” Jackson grumbled.

“You might want to keep your eyes on your friend Danny too,” Peter said and Jackson made a move to step forward but Lydia grabbed his arm sharply.

“What are you talking about?” he snarled.

“Don’t blame me, I’m only the messenger,” Peter said. “All I’m trying to tell you is that when their efforts to steal away Derek’s betas failed, Katherine started to seriously consider her… other options.”

“Well she’s not going to get what she wants,” he said.

Peter just shrugged and folded his arms over his chest.

“Now, I think you had some information for me,” Peter grinned.

“What do you want to know?” Lydia asked.

“Why is the Maeve here?” he said in a low tone.

Lydia smiled. “The older one is dead, the mother. I found her last night in the woods.”

“You found her?” he asked.

“If that’s all, I think we’ll be leaving now,” she said, turning on her heel and taking Jackson’s hand as Allison backed up, still holding the baton out between them.

Peter’s lip just turned up in a smirk and he held his hands up in surrender before they were out the door and leaving the apartment building, hardly knowing anything new at all.

 

 

Jackson called Derek once they were back in the car, handing the keys to Lydia. Derek was sitting home at the loft with Stiles, regaling back to him the things that they had discussed earlier.

He told him what Chris said and that he had looked into the possibility that this could be a hunter, or group of, and had come up with a few possibilities. There was one who used to live in Colorado who seemed like he might have dabbled into acts such as this. He used his ties with market suppliers to gain access to things like wolfsbane and mountain ash and was becoming quite prolific in his attempts to wipe out the supernatural.

That lead was cut down when they saw that he had been killed less than a year ago. Chris was still looking into a lead from Atlanta but as of yet he had nothing that could help.

The phone started ringing and he answered it. Stiles watched his expression change, his lips spreading into a thin line and his nostrils flaring before he hit the hang-up button, still staring straight ahead.

“Derek?” he asked. “Hey, are you okay? What did Jackson say?”

“They talked to Peter,” he said coolly. “He says Katherine is plotting against us.”

“Oh my god, can’t that bitch just give up already?” Stiles groaned.

“I’m not going to wait for her to do something stupid,” Derek said, flicking through his phone.

“Okay… but, can you maybe not do anything stupid while you don’t wait for her to do something stupid?” Stiles asked and Derek just huffed out a little, sounding like an angry bull.

He scrolled through his old messages until he found the one he wanted and pressed call on the number. He put the phone to his ear and Stiles just sighed.

“You’re doing something stupid, I just know it…” he said, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

The ringing stopped and Derek growled down into the phone. “Don’t talk, just listen. I don’t care what you think I’m up to, I don’t care that you feel threatened, but you came into my town and pulled a gun on one of my betas and you’re relentless in your efforts to do damage. We’re not standing back anymore. You want a confrontation? You’ll get one. Meet us at my old house, be ready.”

“… Can’t wait,” her smooth voice came through calmly before she hung up and Derek put the phone down on the coffee table.

“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Stiles asked as Derek paced around the room to calm down.

“Call Scott,” he said. “Get him down here.”

Stiles knew that it wouldn’t be smart to argue with him right now, Derek was seething. There was only so much that one werewolf could take. He called Scott and messaged Jackson – who was more than ready to go for it.

“You’re not coming,” he said to Stiles. “Get Lydia, I want the two of you to go down to the hospital and talk to Scott’s mom about the body, find out what you can.”

“Can you please just promise to be careful?” Stiles said, standing up and walking over to where Derek had stopped his pacing. “I don’t want to find you pinned to a tree with a fucking dagger in your throat because of her.”

Derek sighed, pulling Stiles in and kissing his forehead.

“I promise I’ll do everything I can to stay out of harm’s way,” he said softly and Stiles scoffed.

“You’re an asshole,” he said, Derek having recited the promise he had made only the night before.

“I’ll be fine. Call Lydia now.”

Stiles sighed. “This bitch is going down,” he said sarcastically, taking out his phone to make the call.


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six

“Stiles, would you stop, _please_?” Lydia said as the two of them drove down to the hospital.

He was fiddling around with the radio stations, switching from one to another and then back again, all the while getting more and more frustrated. He grunted and sat back in his seat, his brow firmly furrowed.

Lydia rolled her eyes but kept them on the road. “I know you wish you could do more but you have to just deal with what you’ve got,” she said.

“I know, but it’s driving me crazy to know that all I can do is find out information about someone who is already dead. I mean maybe it will give us something more to work with but they’re all out there, facing Katherine, while we’re cooped up in your expensive car – which is actually really nice by the way – and going off to do pointless research.”

“Stiles, you of all people should know that research is never pointless,” Lydia said. “There is always something more you can learn about until you become an expert, even then there’s still probably something to get out of it.”

Stiles huffed again and folded his arms as he stared out the window. “Don’t tell me you’re not worried about them out there. As big a pain in the ass as Jackson is I know you’re worried about him.”

Lydia chewed on her bottom lip and kept her eyes trained on the path ahead. “Of course I’m worried,” she said. “About Jackson, about Allison, about Scott… Do you think I can do anything other than worry?”

“If your mind works in any way similar to mine then no,” Stiles said.

“I really hope that’s not the case,” she quipped. “The only way I can stop worrying is if I keep busy, and at least this way we’re helping.”

“We don’t know that we’re helping,” Stiles said. “They’re fighting Katherine, not this hunter person, whoever he may be. You and me going to look at a dead body doesn’t help them beat her.”

“We outnumber them, by a fair few, I think Derek and the others can handle that psycho.”

Stiles sighed, watching the lights from the houses nearby flash past. “I hope you’re right.”

 

* *

 

It was like a scene from a movie. The day had been warm but the setting sun had taken the heat with it, leaving in its place a light mist that hung in the air like an omen. They all walked through the trees to get to the meeting spot, all but Stiles and Lydia who had other places to be. A fight like this, as outnumbered as Katherine would be, was no place for two humans.

Allison stopped them before they got close to the clearing by Derek’s old house, something ticking over in her mind.

“Maybe I should keep a perimeter,” she said, hitching her quiver up over her shoulder and plucking at the string of her bow. “We know there’s someone else out here, or at least we think there could be, so someone needs to keep an eye out for any hunter traps we might come across.”

Derek nodded to her, not denying that it was probably in their best interests. “You can’t stay back alone,” he said.

“I can take care of myself,” she said, straightening up a little.

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitched in a smile. “I don’t doubt that, but I wouldn’t suggest _anyone_ being out here alone tonight.”

“Any volunteers?” she asked, looking around as they all seemed to shrug to themselves.

“Don’t look at me, I’ve already picked my target for the night,” Jackson said and they all knew he meant Ethan.

“I’ll do it,” Isaac offered. “With your aim and my senses we should be able to pick anyone off that comes within a decent radius.”

Allison gave him a smile and Derek gave them both a nod. “Alright, head out in that direction, if we need you I’ll call you.”

Isaac grimaced and headed off with Allison while Scott watched the two of them walk away through the trees.

“Not worried about them _are you_?” Erica sang and Scott just rolled his eyes at her.

“Considering someone who was apparently pretty powerful wound up dead out here a few nights ago, I’m going to go with yes,” he said.

“Okay, let me rephrase that, not _jealous_ are you?” she said.

“Can I punch her in the face, please?” Scott grumbled and Derek turned to them with a stern face.

“Shut up, both of you,” he said. “We’re not out here to fight each other.”

Erica shrunk down a little and Scott sighed loudly. “We know that Derek, but you’re the one who got us into this thing in the first place. In what world is it smart to invite someone out to the forest to _kill you_?” Scott said.

“I might have called you out here, but you aren’t one of my betas, you don’t need to be here. So if you’re so against it then why don’t you go back to your house and do some homework like a regular teenager?” Derek snapped.

“Whoa, hey, remember what you just said about not fighting each other?” Boyd said. “Maybe we should stick to that plan.”

Derek huffed out a growl and turned back around, heading for the meeting point a little faster than before. He could already smell Katherine through the trees and when they came across the clearing she was standing there, leaning against the burnt steps that once used to be the front porch. Ethan and Aiden were standing up by the old door, Daisy was right by her left shoulder, her gaze bare. They fanned out in a line before them, Derek taking an extra step forward.

“You know, I expect this was a truly remarkable house in its day Derek. Too bad it came to ruin,” Katherine said, admiring the house that really had been something once.

“Many remarkable things come to ruin,” Derek said.

She smiled. “And here I was thinking that the noble Derek Hale would want to make this a fair fight,” she looked across at the five of them and seemed to shake her head a little.

“It’s not about fair anymore, you made sure of that,” he said with a warning growl.

She sneered, her teeth showing and her eyes glowing. “I thought you might say that,” she said, tapping on the wooden railing.

Derek’s eyes snapped up to the doorway as two figures emerged.

“Oh shit,” Jackson said as two tall burly men came walking out to stand at the top of the stairs.

They flashed their eyes and Derek felt something hitch in his stomach, one of them was an alpha.

“I don’t think you’ve met Rico and Havier,” Katherine said. “I gave them some much needed assistance a few months back and they’re here to repay their debt. At least I’m not breaking your honour code here, for a moment I was afraid we’d have a problem on our hands.”

They began the evening thinking that they were going to be one up, and now they were one short. Derek considered calling to Isaac and Allison but he knew that she was right about scouting the perimeter. Katherine’s face was beginning to change, her fangs growing out past her lips.

Boyd’s gaze was focussed on Daisy but she wouldn’t let her eyes wander to him. He knew that she was lost, that somehow Katherine was slowly forcing her sweet nature out and turning her into a creature that she could command and control, all in the name of power.

Derek’s mind was ticking over, knowing that they didn’t have much time and that it would take at least two of his betas to take down the other alpha if he tended to Katherine, and that left them severely depleted. He was about to send out a signal to Isaac when he felt something familiar hit his senses.

He turned to see Karissa running in to join them, taking up a place beside Erica. She hissed over at Katherine who snarled in response.

“I warn you, I don’t exactly have full control right now, what with the whole still coming of age thing, and the last thing you want is for me to be lose it,” she grinned.

“You couldn’t have been here like a minute earlier?” Erica said through gritted teeth and Karissa shrugged.

“Girl’s got to eat,” she said.

“I assume when you say eat you don’t actually mean it in the creepy way it sounds,” Erica said, not taking her eyes off the others.

“You need me to be strong right? Well nothing makes me stronger than getting some,” she grinned and Derek felt his skin flush and his mind fog up with desire as she let off her pheromones.

“That won't help if it blinds us all,” he said.

“I’ll aim for the hired muscle and tone it down,” she said, a look of excitement in her eyes.

“Don’t let her bite you,” Katherine growled and Karissa just ran her tongue over her teeth, pulling back her allure to keep from distracting the others.

“If you need to bite, I won’t stop you,” Derek said and Karissa grinned.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

 

* *

 

Allison and Isaac walked at a safe distance, stopping when Isaac needed to listen in. He could hear extra sets of feet, although only very vaguely and felt the anxiety creep in.

“Maybe we should be there to help them,” he said.

“You can go if they need you Isaac, I don’t want anything to happen because we have a hunch there might be someone else out here,” Allison said.

“It’s safer if we stay together,” he said.

“I know you volunteered to come with me for Scott,” she said, giving him a look.

“What? I don’t get how he would benefit from this,” Isaac said.

“Because he probably feels better that you’re away from the fight and won't be killed by someone… and because it means that there’s someone here keeping an eye on me in case I need protection.”

“Which you don’t,” he said.

“Which I don’t, no,” she smiled. “Look, I’m glad he has you, I mean it’s still a little weird but I am. You’re good for him.”

“I am?”

“I’m not going to be the girl that lists all the reasons why her ex-boyfriend deserves to be loved by his best friend,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “You guys are cute but if I go into it beyond that it gets weird.”

Isaac scoffed with one of his cheeky smiles, “you totally think about us naked.”

Allison let out aloud laugh and shook her head. “Oh my god, stop,” she said.

He just grinned over at her, happy to have moved past the awkwardness that there had been for so long.

She was staring down at her feet as she shook her head, trying to get the image of Scott and Isaac out of her brain when her eyes locked on something far less interesting but much more relevant.

She stopped in her tracks and bent down, her brow furrowed. Isaac stopped beside her and watched as she picked up a small golden tube from the fallen leaves and trodden foliage on the forest floor.

“What is that?” Isaac asked as she held it in front of her eyes and examined it carefully.

“I think… I think it’s a bullet shell,” she said, spinning it between her fingers and coming across an inscription.

“Hey that looks like Derek’s tattoo,” Isaac said.

“Yeah, it’s Celtic I think,” she said. “It can mean a lot of different things, usually specific to the group that chooses to use it. It’s just a threefold symbol, it’s kind of like father, mother, child… mind, spirit, body…”

“Alpha, beta, omega,” Isaac said.

Allison nodded. “Uh huh, exactly. I don’t think these bullets would have been from Katherine’s gun.”

“She did say they were special bullets,” Isaac said and Allison lifted the tube to her nose.

She held it up for Isaac to smell, and though it was faint whatever it was irritated his nose, making him need to sneeze.

“Probably wolfsbane,” she said. “Definitely not something a werewolf would carry around.”

“Do you think your dad would know a bullet like that would belong to? He used to sell weapons after all.”

“He might,” she said, standing up and pocketing it in her jacket for safe keeping. “Whoever they are, they aren’t laying low, that bullet had to have been recently fired.”

“How do you know?”

“What did you just say about my dad and his old job?”

“True, well how recent is ‘recent’?” Isaac asked.

She sighed, “A day maybe, could be less than that.”

Isaac nodded, tuning his ears in to every little sound around them. Knowing that just made him more cautious. He heard growling and a scuffle of feet and claws in the distance.

“It’s started,” he said.

 

* *

 

Stiles and Lydia followed Melissa McCall through the hospital corridors, checking to see if anyone noticed anything suspicious. It probably should be suspicious, considering the amount of time they all spend down here, especially recently.

She led them down to the morgue and let them in, closing the door quietly behind her.

“Okay, so I had a look at her body, definitely not a werewolf style killing,” she said, walking over to the table where she was covered with a thin sheet. “I would say that her throat was slashed first, and then she was pinned and tied up, see the thin wire mark around her neck, just above where the dagger hit, and as if that wasn’t enough, she was shot in the chest too.”

“She was shot, had her throat cut, and strung up with a knife in her throat?” Lydia said. “I get that she was powerful but would it really take all that to take her down?”

Stiles shook his head. “No, she didn’t heal as quickly as the werewolves do. Catching her would be the hard part, restraining and killing her would have been easier.”

“So why is it just the two of you here tonight? Please tell me Scott just wanted a night in with Isaac at Derek’s place,” Melissa laughed nervously and Stiles and Lydia exchanged glances. She sighed and looked down at her feet. “A mother can hope can’t she?”

“They’re going to be fine,” Stiles said.

“Oh god, where are they?” Melissa asked.

“They’re… dealing with another pack,” Lydia said.

“If that boy comes home and drops more tatty-bloodied clothing into the laundry basket I swear he is going to be so grounded from all this werewolf stuff,” she said.

“Is there anything else to know about her?” Lydia asked, tilting her head towards Dalia’s body.

“Just that whoever did this was careful, and I mean really careful. There were no fingerprints or anything left behind. What I can’t figure out is why someone would shoot her after she was already dead,” Melissa said.

“What kind of bullet was it?” Stiles asked.

“Not sure, the cops took all of that stuff down to the station. It is a murder investigation after all,” she said.

“Yeah, right,” Stiles grumbled. “Thanks anyway.”

She gave him a weak smile. “Scott’s going to be okay, isn’t he? I mean this isn’t some kind of fight to the death is it?”

“They’ll all be fine Ms McCall,” Lydia said.

“Even if it was, they’d win the damn thing anyway, we outnumber them, what? Like seven to four?” Stiles said.

“Nine including Karissa and her sister,” Lydia added.

“See? Totally doubled them,” Stiles smiled. “Scott’ll be home with enough time to study for the chemistry test next week. Not that he hasn’t already been studying I mean,” he said.

She sighed, wanting to believe them. “Anything else you need to know?”

“No, I think this was just a decoy adventure to keep us away from the real one,” Stiles said.

They thanked her again and headed off to the car, feeling slightly deflated as they buckled their seatbelts. It was difficult being human around Beacon Hills, most of the time they just felt useless.

“Is it wrong that I want to go out there and help?” Stiles said.

“No,” Lydia sighed, “but it would be a stupid plan.”

“I’m sure we’ve had worse,” he shrugged as she started the car.

“Worse plans than the two of us wandering into the middle of a fight, completely unarmed and on top of that weak and human? To be used as pawns for Katherine to barter with? I don’t think so,” Lydia said.

“Can we at least go and wait nearby? Or at the loft? I am _not_ going home right now.”

She sighed, “fine, but can you pick a radio station this time? No more flicking.”

“Let’s go.”

 

* *

 

Even with Karissa the pack was one short for this fight. It was going to take two of them to tackle Rico, Katherine’s alpha call-in, and that left one spare. Derek thought that they could handle it, so long as he was quick to take down Havier.

Jackson was the first to lunge, running at Ethan with his fangs bared. They came to clash, Jackson leaping up and squaring his feet with Ethan’s chest, a swift kick sending him flying back, only angering him more.

Both Scott and Boyd charged for Rico, the alpha, Scott swinging high and missing while Boyd cut him off at the ankles. He keened forward, his reflexes letting him land in push-up position and then he pushed himself up onto his feet, head turning slowly as he snarled menacingly at the two of them. They gave one another a look and lunged again.

Erica ran for Daisy, skidding to a stop before her and eyeing her warily. Her face was contorted, snarling and angry.

“Come on Daisy, I know you don’t want to do this,” she said, to which she replied with the frantic swinging of her claws. “Okay, I get it, you’re angry.”

Daisy growled, her teeth shining with saliva and her yellow eyes wide with wild fury.

“Come on Daisy!” she yelled, dodging Daisy’s claws, playing a game of avoidance.

Karissa locked eyes with Aiden, sending out waves of pheromones that were confusing him. Katherine looked over angrily, yelling out at him to do something.

“That’s not what you want is it? To tear me apart?” Karissa asked sweetly as she watched Aiden struggle to focus on the task Katherine was bidding him to do. “I don’t think it is.”

“Aiden, take her down!” she howled.

Karissa’s eyes were shifting, turning a rich colour and her pupils becoming slits. Since they had seen her last she had come far closer to maturity and that meant she had the ability to transform. Her tail curled out and as she had Aiden entranced it wrapped around his ankles and tripped him, the breath leaving his lungs as he slammed flat into the heavy forest soil.

Katherine seethed, starting to run for Karissa who was now pinning Aiden down against the floor without much force.

Derek had been grappling with Havier and watched Katherine make her move. He roared in the face of the newcomer as he shoved him off and into Katherine’s path, making her stumble. She turned furiously to face him, Aiden and Karissa forgotten, and ran towards him.

He held himself at the ready and she swung at him harshly, the other hand jabbing into his stomach. The pain shot through him and he grimaced as he tried to shove her off, resorting to kicking her shins to get her off. He didn’t have enough time to heal before she was back, her eyes red and fierce.

She wasn’t going down easy.

 

* *

 

“I can practically hear your anxiety you know,” Allison said.

She was searching through the trees with her eyes as Isaac listened in to the fight going on nearby.

“I’m sorry,” he hissed, “I can’t help it. I think they’re outnumbered.”

“What? I thought―”

“She called two guys in I think,” he said. “I’m pretty sure Karissa showed up though, that’s something right?”

Allison saw something move through the trees, a shape, barely anything to go by, but she readied her bow and squinted through the darkness. There was something there – more likely someone – and she nudged Isaac with her foot to silence him.

“What?” he asked.

“ _Shh_ …” she shushed. “I think there’s someone out here with us,” she said in barely a whisper.

Isaac scanned the trees, his vision a little sharper. “I can’t see anyone Allison,” he whispered back.

“Someone left that bullet shell, I know there’s someone out there.”

They both heard a growl erupting from the distance and Isaac’s head snapped in that direction. “That was Derek,” he said.

“You can go, help them,” she said.

“If you think someone’s out here I can't leave you alone,” he said.

“Then don’t, lead the way, I’ll keep shelter in the tree-line, maybe help out with an arrow or two,” she smiled and he started running.

He was slow so that she could follow his steps, she kept her hands on her bow and arrow, waiting and watching for any sign to shoot. They closed in and Isaac could feel his heart pounding faster as they got closer until something stopped him in his tracks. Literally.

He hit a wall, his body flinging back and stumbling until he was lying on his side, more confused than anything. Allison skidded to a stop, her bow raised ahead and her eyes searching frantically.

“Isaac you okay? What happened?” she asked without looking down.

“I’m fine just…” Isaac said staring down at the forest floor to see a dark line of powder running across the path in front of them. “Mountain ash?” he said quietly.

Allison’s brow furrowed in confusion, turning to look at him and follow his gaze. She bent down to see the line, concealed carefully on the dark floor.

“You can’t get through?” she asked.

He stood up and approached it carefully, reaching out with his hand until his fingers felt the barrier between them and the rest of the pack. He shook his head and pulled his hand away.

“It’s sealed, someone sealed them in…” he said softly, looking up with just his eyes to scout the horizon.

“Yeah well they didn’t bet on having a human to break the damn thing, did they?” Allison said as she kicked a hole in the circle and the barrier dropped. “Let’s go.”

“I’m starting to believe you about not being alone out here.”

 

They raced through the trees to make it to the clearing where things had reached somewhat of a stalemate. Ethan and Jackson were still clashing, each of them as strong as the other, if not a little in Ethan’s favour. He was faster but Jackson used his weight against him and the two were doing more wrestling than they were fighting.

Daisy wasn’t giving up, something about her was different and nothing Erica could say to her seemed to bring her out of it. She tried reasoning with her, she didn’t want to fight her because she had seen the good side to her and she knew how much Boyd cared. Scott and Boyd seemed to be getting closer to taking down their alpha, and with another blow he crashed into a tree and Boyd looked over to where the two girls were fighting.

Daisy’s claws cut through Erica’s thigh and Erica cried out, falling to the ground. “Boyd!” she called, knowing that he had a better chance than she did at breaking through Daisy’s rage.

Scott nodded to him, “I’ve got this,” he growled and Boyd ran over to them.

Karissa was keeping Aiden at bay, her voice soothing and entrancing as she held him up against a tree, her tail held tightly around the throat of Havier who seemed less likely to attack her than he was Derek.

Boyd ran over, wrapping his arms around Daisy from behind and holding her still as she thrashed.

“This isn’t you!” he growled. “What did she do to you?”

Erica picked herself up, scanning the fight to see where her help was needed and she ran over to kick Havier in the gut, followed by two hard slashes across his chest and Karissa let him go, looking over to where Boyd was holding Daisy.

“What the hell is he doing?” she said.

“She shouldn’t be fighting, she’s not like that and Boyd―” Erica began.

Karissa groaned, “here, take this,” she said, letting go of Aiden and striding over to where Boyd and Daisy were.

“Let me give it a shot,” she said, her fist slicing through the air to collide with Daisy’s face once, and then again.

Boyd gave her an incredulous look but she kept her eyes on Daisy, reaching out to take her chin between her fingers and pulling it around to look at her. Daisy’s face was back to its human form and she panted heavily, looking up at Karissa.

She smiled with falsity and looked up to Boyd, “You’re welcome.”

With that she turned on her heel and ran back to deal with Havier.

Aiden looked reluctant to deal with Erica and the two circled one another, Erica’s lip turned up in a snarl.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said with a shrug.

“Wasn’t that the plan all along? Lure me in to something you knew was toxic?”

“This isn’t my choice, it’s my pack,” he said.

“Maybe you should fix that,” she said, making a move to lunge when a loud bang rang out through the clearing.

Everyone stopped and Karissa yelled loudly, clasping at her arm and looking down to see a scrape where a bullet had grazed her. It was then when Isaac and Allison skidded into the clearing and Derek shoved Katherine to the side. He searched through the trees and his eyes locked on the figure in the distance as they lined up for another shot.

It seemed to happen as if in slow motion.

He turned to yell out, the word ‘ _run_ ’ only just escaping his lips as the second bullet came tearing through. Karissa moved just enough to avoid a serious shot but screamed as it embedded in her forearm. Allison aimed through the trees, she couldn’t see the shooter but let her arrow fly in the direction Derek had been staring moments before.

Rico and Havier were up and running, their loyalties only extending so far. Katherine was on her feet and yelling for her betas to follow but Daisy had seen something else, coming from another direction. A second figure and she knew where that bullet was aiming. She thrust her elbows quickly back into Boyd’s ribs and lunged forward just before the sound of a third shot firing.

Her body crashed into Karissa’s and they both fell to the floor. Daisy yelped in pain, the bullet tearing through her side. She hunched over on the floor and Karissa stood up, taking her by the arm and Boyd helped, dragging her along until Aiden and Ethan fended them off, taking her from them and Aiden slung her over his shoulder as they ran.

“Go, all of you, _now_!” Derek yelled.

He spun around to see the second figure reloading, this time with a new target. He ran, roaring out an almighty alpha howl as he shielded Erica and the bullet tore into his shoulder. His next howl was one of excruciating pain.

Erica was stunned, her stomach twisting as she realised that she had almost been hit with a fatal blow, and that Derek took it instead, knowing full well that it could have been any kind of bullet.

“Come on, come on! Go!” Scott yelled, he and Boyd taking Derek, who had gone very pale and weak under the arms as they retreated.

They all ran, Isaac holding tightly to Allison’s arm lest they go to fast and leave her behind, but she seemed to know when they were outdone. She didn’t want to be the one to bring an arrow to a gun fight.

They didn’t hear another shot, and there didn’t seem to be anyone following them but they ran like hell to the edge of the woods, piling Derek into the Camaro and Jackson climbed into the front seat, knowing he could get them to the clinic the fastest.

He went with Derek, Erica, and Isaac; Scott, Boyd and Karissa climbed into the Porsche that Allison had the keys to and set off after them.

“Someone call Stiles,” Allison said. “He’s going to want to know.”

Scott pulled out his phone to dial, putting the phone to his ear.

“Who the hell was that?” Karissa asked, hissing at the pain in her left arm.

“Hunters, maybe,” Allison said.

“Had to be, that wasn’t a normal bullet,” Boyd said and Allison remembered the shell in her pocket.

“Scott, I’m going to have to get you to call my dad after you get Stiles, I think he might be able to help,” she said.

“As long as someone can,” Karissa said, leaving a very tense atmosphere under the silence.

 

* *

 

Stiles was flicking with the radio again, and it made Lydia grind her teeth. So much so that she shot him a few painful glares which made him stop, for about thirty seconds. He got tired of the stations she had programmed and began turning the dial, trying to find something new.

Lydia was about to yell at him when she heard something on one of the stations he passed by. “Wait, go back to that,” she said.

“Go back to what?” he asked, turning it back too far.

“No, forward more,” she said, slowing down and pulling over on the side of the road as he turned the dial again. “There,” she said.

“Uh… Lydia?” he said but she just listened in. “Lydia it’s just white noise…”

She shook her head, “No…” she whispered, trying to pick something out that made sense.

“What do you hear?” he asked quietly and she felt herself growing frustrated because she didn’t know.

“Voices…” she murmured, but she didn’t know what they were saying.

“What kind of voices?”

She shook her head again, grunting a little in annoyance. “I don’t know, I can’t… I can’t hear them properly. They’re right there I just can’t…”

“Focus Lydia,” Stiles said, knowing that this couldn’t just be a coincidence. “What do you hear?”

She just grunted again and shook her head, “I can’t hear them, it makes me so frustrated because I know they’re speaking to me, trying to tell me something, I just want to scream because I can’t hear them but they’re still too loud…”

“Do it,” Stiles said and she just looked up at him. “Scream.”

She took in a breath and let out a scream that had Stiles covering his ears and he was sure the pack could have heard it no matter how far away they were. When she stopped he just watched her and things seemed to get clearer in her mind.

She started up the car again and Stiles started to ask what she was doing but she shushed him, the voices clear enough to give her a direction, she just wasn’t sure what to.


	37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Get him up on the table!” Deaton said as Jackson and Isaac dragged Derek in through the clinic doors. “What happened?”

“We were fighting with Katherine’s pack and someone came out shooting,” Erica said. “Two of them maybe. Derek jumped in front of me and copped it in the shoulder.”

Derek let out a wailing growl, his mouth foaming a little and his red eyes flickering.

“That’s not good is it?” Jackson asked as they held him down on the table.

Isaac pushed down on his arm to pin him and it pulled on the punctured flesh, making Derek yell painfully.

Deaton put his glasses on and tried to aim his light into the wound – which wasn’t healing. He shook his head and gave Jackson a sombre gaze. “No, it’s not.”

It was then that they heard the others pull up out the front, piling in with Scott looking over at Derek writhing in pain and feeling like he was having déjà vu. It reminded him of when he was first turned, and Derek got shot with a wolfsbane laced bullet. He and Stiles had almost had to resort to cutting off his arm before Scott had showed up with the bullet for the antidote.

“What’s happening to him?” Isaac asked, struggling to hold him still.

“The poison is spreading into his bloodstream,” Scott said.

Isaac looked up at Deaton who nodded and then back to Scott, “You’ve seen this before?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t this bad back then.”

“My dad’s on his way,” Allison said. “He’s bringing his bullets.”

Scott had told her in the car that having that shell might be the key to saving Derek’s life, without it they might not be able to form a cure.

“Good, we’ll need them, but I can’t be sure that he’ll have something with the same strain of wolfsbane,” Deaton said. “The bullet was probably made of something dissolvable, I can’t see any trace of it in here. It was most likely full of aconite powder.”

“Well what does it mean if Allison’s dad doesn’t have the same kind?” Boyd asked and Deaton just looked up at him.

“We’ll deal with that when we have to,” he said and none of them liked the way that sounded.

Derek had stopped thrashing, his skin was pale and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He looked almost hypothermic. Karissa let out a grunt, holding her arm where she herself had been shot.

“I should take a look at that,” Deaton offered. “I can't do anything more for Derek yet, we need to wait for Chris.”

Karissa shook her head. “I’ll be fine, I don’t heal as fast but I’ll still heal.”

“At least let me clean it, wolfsbane might not be lethal to you but it’s still toxic.”

She nodded reluctantly and held her arm out for him to check.

Scott walked over to Isaac, sliding his hand around his back and leaning his head against his shoulder. The whole thing was absolutely draining him.

“Did you call Stiles?” Isaac asked, staring down at Derek’s delirious form.

“He’s not picking up!” Scott said, frustration laden in his voice. “I don’t know why he won't answer.”

“Maybe it’s on silent?” Isaac offered but Scott shook his head.

“There’s no way he would have his phone on silent while we were out in the woods with Katherine’s pack, no way in hell.”

“Lydia’s not answering either,” Jackson said. “You think they’re in trouble?”

“They were only going to the hospital,” Scott said with a shrug.

“Call your mom,” Erica said. “You said they were going to talk to her.”

“Not a bad idea,” Scott said, fishing his phone out to call her.

She picked up quickly, sounding a little flustered. “Scott? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah mom. I mean, kind of, but I’m okay,” he said.

He heard her let out an exasperated sigh. “Thank god, I don’t know if I want to know what you’re up to anymore or whether I just want you to text me if you’re out of danger.”

“Yeah, sorry mom,” he said.

“I guess that’s the nature of having a supernatural son, huh?” she chuckled a little.

“Listen mom, are Stiles and Lydia still with you?” he asked.

“No, they left about a half hour ago. Why? Are they okay?”

“Yeah, yeah they’re probably just driving, just that they weren’t picking up is all.”

“You know, you make me nervous when you try to reassure me.”

“Sorry,” Scott said guiltily.

“Well can you let me know when you finally get through to them? You’re worrying.”

“Yeah mom, I will.”

As they hung up he ran a hand through his hair and Isaac pulled him into his arms for a hug. Scott closed his eyes and focussed on Isaac’s heartbeat as Isaac looked around the room.

Erica and Boyd were standing together, looking pretty sombre, Allison was telling Jackson that Lydia was probably doing some research with Stiles, that maybe they found something interesting. Karissa was reluctantly letting Deaton clean out her bullet wounds, the poison inside seeming to scald her skin.

 _What the hell Stiles?_ Isaac thought to himself.

 

 

Stiles felt his phone going off in his pocket again and raced to turn it off, every time it rang it broke Lydia’s concentration. He didn’t even know what she was concentrating on but they had to find out.

She was hearing _voices_ for crying out loud.

“Just answer it,” she said. “I’m no closer to knowing what the hell is going on than I was ten minutes ago anyway.”

“No,” Stiles said, “This is not _nothing_ Lydia, you’re hearing something and we’re going to figure it out so whatever it is they can wait.”

“Jackson won't stop calling,” she said.

“Don’t answer.”

“It could be important!”

“Well so could this!”

They both huffed impatiently and Lydia closed her eyes, willing herself the focus she needed. They had pulled over again and Stiles kept his mouth shut, watching her expression change as different things crossed her mind.

She opened her eyes quickly this time and turned to stare out her window, into the expanse of forest that lay beyond.

“There is something out there Stiles,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know what it is, or if it’s alive or dead but I just have this feeling.”

“You want to go out there?”

She shook her head quickly and looked over at him. “You and me, alone in the woods at night is _not_ a good plan.”

He sighed and fell back against the door. “You’re right, I know, you’re right. Just… what if this is important?”

She sighed again, staring out the window and knowing that this entire thing was going to be a mistake. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening her door and climbing out, Stiles following her hurriedly, running around the car to stand by her side as she stared into the trees.

She walked slowly towards them, listening intently as she did. She could feel it now, death, it was unmistakeable. Someone in these woods was dead, and they hadn’t been for long.

“Stiles, maybe we should answer the phones,” she said.

He turned his head to look at her, worry and dread washing over him. “Why?”

Lydia shook her head, biting down on her lip. “I just… I can’t explain _any_ of this,” she said.

“Let’s just get it over with, okay?” he said, his stomach turning at the thought of going deeper into the trees.

She heard the crunch of some dry leaves and her head snapped to the side. In a second Stiles saw her freeze up and take a sharp breath.

“Stiles…” she whispered. “Look…”

He turned to look in the same direction and saw two dark figures running along the trees edges. He made quick moves to pull Lydia back into the shadows and shield them from view as the two of them stopped breathing completely.

“Shit…” he whispered, “oh _shit_ …”

“ _Not helping_ …” she hissed.

The two figures stopped, the shorter one turning to face the other and seemed to have something heated to say. They couldn’t see them clearly, they were dressed in all black and there was hardly any moonlight coming through the trees but they saw the larger one strike the other across the face and then slam them up into a tree to have words.

“Did they look like werewolves to you?” Lydia said in barely a breath as they disappeared back into the trees and out of sight.

Stiles shook his head, “No, and I don’t think they saw us either. Thank god.”

“You see, this is why it’s a bad plan to be out here alone,” she said, finally letting her breath escape in long shaky exhalations.

“I know, I know, look just… calm down, okay? Let’s mark the spot and come back later, definitely with daylight.”

“Can we please call them back now?” she said as she hurriedly began moving to the car with Stiles in close pursuit, her instincts begging her to stay.

“I’m on it,” Stiles said, already dialling Scott’s number. “Hey Scott, yeah sorry we were just… what? No, wait, slow down, what do you mean ‘shot’? Holy shit, yeah, yes we’re on our way right now,” he hung up the phone and felt his heartbeat rise to unrealistic new levels.

“It’s bad isn’t it,” Lydia said with a grimace.

“Worse.”

 

Back at the clinic the mood was tense. Chris was on his way, but not fast enough. Derek was slipping in and out of consciousness, once asking for Stiles to which Scott had to tell him that he wasn’t there, that he was on his way now, finally.

Boyd’s mind was torn between two places, and he could see the look on Erica’s face; she was thinking the same thing.

 _Daisy_.

She had been shot with the same gun as Derek, no doubt the same bullets, and he was without a doubt dying. There was no way the others could do anything to help, they could barely do anything for Derek with Deaton here, not without knowing the kind of wolfsbane.

She would die without help, and they both knew it, so Erica just held tightly to Boyd’s arm and said nothing, because nothing was going to help the situation.

When Chris showed up he had a case in hand, full of ammunition.

“Tell me what you need,” he said gruffly.

He was still getting used to the whole ‘helping werewolves’ thing. It went against everything he had been taught in his life, but they weren’t killers, at least not of the innocent.

“We need a specific type of aconite,” Deaton said, “Something I can mix into the wound, it forms a sort of remedy. Without it, he’ll die.”

“I can’t promise I have it,” Chris said, “There’s over two hundred different species, we only carry about ten, maybe twelve.”

“You have to have it, you have to have something,” Isaac said, taking another glance over at Derek.

“Does this help?” Allison said, holding out the bullet shell she found out in the woods.

Chris narrowed his eyes and took it from her, inspecting it slowly. “Where did you get this?”

“It wasn’t long before he was shot,” she said, remembering another detail that had been lost in the frantic nature of it all. “Not far outside a circle of mountain ash.”

“What?” Jackson asked.

“It had you all sealed in,” Isaac said. “It was big enough to avoid you noticing someone drawing it, but small enough that they could still shoot from the outside.”

“They… they knew that we’d be out there?” he asked.

“How could they?” Erica said. “We didn’t even know we were going to be there.”

“It doesn’t matter right not,” Isaac said. “What matters is that if we didn’t have Allison with us to break the circle then we’d probably all be out there like _that_ right now,” he said, pointing to Derek.

It was at that moment that they heard the door to the clinic swing open and Lydia and Stiles were bursting through into the room.

“Where is he? Where’s Derek?” Stiles was saying, running to his side when he saw him lying on the cold steel. “What happened? Is he dying?”

He wiped the sweat off Derek’s forehead and stroked through the line of his hair, looking down at the festering bullet hole in his shoulder. Derek’s eyes opened and closed deliriously and Stiles could feel the panic rising inside him.

“Not if I can help it,” Chris said, opening his case.

Inside was a plethora of different bullets, some silver, some gold, some jet black in colour. His eyes scanned them and Scott looked over his shoulder, eyes going wide.

“You use all of those?” he asked.

Chris paused to look at him over his arm and raised an eyebrow. “Not so much anymore.”

Scott nodded a little, “Thanks for that.”

Lydia went to stand next to Jackson, staring over at Derek with worry. If it was those people that they saw out in the woods that did this then who knew what else they were capable of. Derek is an alpha after all.

Chris looked a little more at the shell in his hand, brought it up to just under his nose and tried to catch a glimpse of the poison that had once been inside. He looked down at it again, his hand running over the symbol.

In a small box in the corner of his case he found a golden bullet with a similar symbol and pulled it out to examine it.

“This could be what you need,” he said, holding it out to Deaton. “The mark on the shell is similar, it could be the same subspecies, or a variation of.”

Deaton sighed and took it from him. “I suppose we’ll have to try.”

“Wait, what if you’re wrong?” Stiles asked, turning to him. “What if it’s the wrong type of poison?”

Chris raised his eyebrows and looked to the floor for a moment before his eyes shot to Deaton. He just looked over at Stiles with a hopeful expression.

“Let’s worry about that when we have to,” he said as he turned to the bench and began extracting the fine aconite dust.

“Just out of curiosity, what kind of wolfsbane is that?” Jackson asked.

Chris turned to look at him. “Aconitum Anthora,” he said. “Commonly known as Yellow Monkshood.”

“Or ironically, Healing Wolfsbane,” Deaton added.

“It’s potent, works in just a few hours,” Chris said. “If he went untreated he wouldn’t last through the night.”

“I think this is our best chance,” Deaton said, staring down into a microscope.

He took the petri dish that was filled with the tiny beads of powdered wolfsbane and brought it over to the table, a lighter in his other hand. Carefully he lit up the pieces and they sparked with a loud cracking sound and a flash.

All the wolves in the room stepped back a little and Chris’ lips turned up in a smile. Allison bumped him with her hip and he cleared his throat as he managed to regain a straight face.

“I’m going to need someone to help hold him down,” Deaton said.

“I got him,” Stiles said, still running his hands through Derek’s hair.

“I’ll help,” Chris said, shedding his jacket and walking over to stand on Derek’s other side.

Deaton poured little more than half of the aconite into his hand as he stood over Derek’s injured shoulder. “Now Derek, I warn you… this might hurt,” he said before letting it slide off and into the wound before he was quickly pressing it in with his fingers.

The sound that Derek made was the most animal noise any of them had heard in a long time. He thrashed his legs and his eyes opened wide, red and angry as his fangs glistened under the fluorescent light.

“Hold him still!” Deaton said as they struggled to keep him down and Scott rushed to hold his legs.

There was a fizzling sound and what appeared to be smoke coming from the wound and Derek was still wailing in pain, his loud roars filling the small room and echoing off the walls. Stiles looked terrified, like it hurt him to just hear Derek in so much pain.

Slowly Derek stopped resisting and passed out again, Stiles catching his head before it came back down to slam against the metal table.

“Did it work?” he asked, looking up and from Deaton to Chris.

“It seems to be healing,” Deaton said, inspecting the wound.

“Lucky,” Chris added, “That was my last of those bullets.”

It was barely a moment later that they heard a banging on the front door of the clinic. Everyone’s attention snapped towards the sound and Karissa looked around the room curiously.

“I didn’t think we were expecting company,” she said.

“We weren’t,” Allison said, taking her bow off her shoulders, her quiver still perched on her back.

As she loaded an arrow Chris put his hand on her shoulder. “Allison,” he said.

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “If you’re worried then come with me,” she said.

He nodded, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a small calibre pistol. Allison smiled at him for a moment before the two approached the door carefully.

“Who’s there?” Allison called, bow aimed dead centre.

There was no reply and Chris walked slowly around her, taking a hold of the doorknob and turning it slowly before wrenching the door open and aiming his gun at the person standing there.

Only there was no one there and they both thought they must be missing something until Allison’s eyes dropped and she saw that lying on the doorstep was a very pale lifeless girl, barely breathing.

She dropped her bow to her side and gasped, “Daisy…” she said. “Oh god…”

Chris looked at Allison’s expression and then down at Daisy, putting his gun back in his pocket and reaching down to feel her pulse.

“She’s alive,” he said, “barely.”

“She was shot,” Allison said. “We need to get her inside.”

Chris scooped her up in his arms and Allison ran back to the others, “It’s Daisy,” she said.

Boyd rushed to see Chris carrying her in and Deaton told them to move Derek to his office so he could use the table.

“She’s much worse than Derek was,” Deaton said, taking one look at the oozing infected wound in her side and shaking his head.

“Who dropped her off?” Boyd asked.

Allison shook her head, “she was lying at the door, they must have just―”

“They left her here to die so they could clear their own guilty consciences,” Karissa said.

“Is there enough of that left to heal her?” Boyd asked, pointing to the petri dish in Deaton’s hand.

“Maybe, if it were a scratch, or a graze, but this is a severe injury,” Deaton said.

“You have to try though, right? I mean it won't hurt?” Erica asked.

Deaton sighed, “It might be too late, but giving up isn’t in my vocabulary.”

He poured what was left of the wolfsbane into the wound, and it did much the same as Derek’s did, but she took a lot longer to stir, and even then she didn’t wake, she just tried to struggle out of their grip, whimpering a little. Once the worst of the effects were over she slipped back into a sleep and Boyd looked up at Deaton.

“Is that a good sign? Is she going to live?”

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” he said with a grim gaze. “I’ll monitor her though, do what I can.”

“I thought she was in the pack you were up against?” Chris said.

“It’s a little complicated,” Allison said, rubbing her brow in exhaustion.

Stiles sat in the office with Derek, head propped up in his lap as he waited for him to wake up. The good thing was that he could see the bullet hole healing. That was the only good sign because other than that Derek was still passed out and breathing slowly.

Isaac stood watching them from the other side of the room and Scott walked over to him.

“He’ll be fine,” he said, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Things aren’t always fine Scott,” he sighed. “Not in my life anyway. “

“Well other than all this werewolf stuff things in your life don’t _totally_ suck.”

Isaac smiled a little and looked down into Scott’s eyes. “Scott, you are probably the one thing to happen to me that hasn’t gone wrong, everything else, other people around me… maybe it’s just bad luck, and no, I don’t think I’m the cause of that bad luck, just maybe life is full of bad luck and it’s just where and when you end up that determines that.”

“Yeah but luck comes in and out, balances out somewhere along the line,” Scott said.

“Well when are people going to stop dying around me? Or leaving…” he said, looking down at his feet.

“Today, because I’m not going to leave. I would never leave you, not unless it was going to save your life or something,” he smiled and Isaac leant down to peck him on the lips. “Okay? I promise.”

“Cross your heart?”

Scott grinned, “Yeah, cross my heart.”

Lydia walked into the doorway of Deaton’s small office and looked down at Stiles.

“I think he’s going to be okay,” he sniffed. “I mean it’s almost totally healed so that’s a good thing.”

“I’m sure he’ll heal Stiles,” she said, looking out to see Jackson trying to help with Daisy and came in to sit on the floor next to Stiles. “Listen, you remember earlier, I said I didn’t know what I thought was out there? In the woods?”

He looked up at her and nodded, brow furrowing slightly. “Yeah, yeah I remember.”

“Well right before we left I… I know that what I felt,” she scrunched up her eyes and huffed out a little sigh. “Whatever it was that I could… _sense_ out there, it wasn’t alive. When we got back here and heard that Daisy had been shot I started thinking that it must have been her but she’s here, she’s alive, mostly.”

“Yeah, so what, what are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. I just know that I am no closer to having any answers than I was an hour ago,” she shook her head and bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“Lydia, we’ll figure this out, we can―” he stopped short as he felt Derek stir under his hands and both of their attentions dropped.

“That’s good right?” she said.

“Derek? Derek can you hear me?” Stiles said loudly.

He opened his eyes slowly and let out a loud grunting sound as he tried to sit himself up. “Yeah,” he mumbled as his shaky arms struggled to hold him steady.

“You remember what happened? Are you okay? How’s your shoulder?”

“Stiles I think you should maybe slow down with the questions,” Lydia said.

Derek nodded, “Listen to her.”

“Well I see a little bullet to the shoulder hasn’t broken your super Sourwolf spirit,” Stiles said and Derek glared up at him before letting out a quiet laugh.

Stiles launched at him, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing a little too hard. Derek grimaced, still not quite at full strength but he hugged Stiles back with one arm anyway.

Lydia and Stiles helped him to his feet, and he was a little dizzy but he was able to walk into the back room where Deaton was still looking over Daisy on the table.

“Are you sure I can't do anything?” Karissa asked impatiently. “The girl kind of saved my life, not that I can figure out _why_.”

“There’s nothing more we can do now, all we can do is wait and see if it was too late or whether we got there in time,” Deaton said. “Derek, it’s good to see you up.”

He nodded a little and looked down at Daisy, “How did she get here?” he asked, and Boyd relayed the story to him which seemed to irritate Derek greatly. “You don’t leave your pack members behind,” he said in more of a growl.

“Yeah well Katherine isn’t exactly the classiest alpha we’ve ever encountered,” Erica groaned.

“She’s probably on par with Peter,” Stiles rolled his eyes.

“They should just leave town together and go have their evil little alpha babies,” Erica said.

“Are you kidding?” Jackson said, raising an eyebrow. “One of them would kill the other before it got to that.”

“Before we get too off topic,” Lydia cut in, taking a quick glance over at Stiles before turning to Derek. “I think there’s something we should tell you.”

She and Stiles began to tell them about the figures in the woods, glossing over some details to focus on the most important – that they needed to go back out there to find whatever it was that Lydia had sensed.

Derek said that they would go out the following afternoon, when he had gotten his strength back and when it was daylight. Two vigilante supernatural hunters might be brave at night with some mountain ash but sunlight and werewolf vision was a combination that they probably wouldn’t find too favourable.

Stiles wanted to get Derek back to the loft and Isaac agreed, both of them making him roll his eyes because he was already feeling better and they were just starting to be a little too overprotective. Derek made sure to reiterate the fact that he didn’t want anyone going anywhere alone, a fact that Chris seemed to appreciate, even though Allison was probably not on this hunter’s hit-list.

He and Allison left not long after that. Boyd said he would stay to keep an eye on Daisy but Derek said it was too risky if it was just him, so Karissa offered to stay with him. Lydia was taking Erica to stay at her place for the night, Jackson was dropping Scott home because their houses weren’t too far away from one another, and Derek was reluctantly letting stiles drive the Camaro back to the loft.

Tomorrow would be less than fun, especially considering they were all still trying to stay in school as much as possible. Isaac thought it was pointless considering everything but they were still teenagers after all.

When they got back to the loft Derek seemed to have perked up a lot, the colour had come back to his skin and he was back to being steady on his feet. Stiles still didn’t believe that he was fine, which led to Derek offering to show him just how fine he was and Isaac took that as his cue to go to bed with headphones in.

Derek lifted Stiles off his feet once they made it to his bedroom and pinned his back to the wall. Stiles tried to protest but the way Derek's mouth was trailing down his neck he became slightly tongue-tied. He wrapped his legs around Derek’s waist and felt Derek grind his hips into him.

His hands grappled for the back of Derek’s shirt, pulling it up and over until Derek was forced to let him go as they frantically undressed one another. Derek tried to guide Stiles back to the bed but Stiles pulled him around to pin Derek against the wall with a little smirk.

“I might be easily distractible but not _that_ easy,” he grinned. “No fucking, not tonight.”

“Oh really?” Derek raised an eyebrow, running his hand slowly down Stiles’ chest but Stiles just grabbed his wrist and pulled it up and away from more sensitive parts of his anatomy.

“Yes, really,” Stiles said and Derek let out a huff of annoyance before Stiles was smirking again with that pretty mouth and putting two of Derek’s fingers between his lips and running them along his tongue.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, but not pulling away.

Stiles paused for a second, taking Derek’s fingers out of his mouth. “I said no _fucking,_ I didn’t say no _anything_.”

Derek rolled his eyes but Stiles just grinned and lowered himself down to his knees. While it wasn’t what he had planned, Derek wasn’t about to complain about the way Stiles worked, about how tireless he was and how he was making his toes curl. It didn’t take long before he was dizzy again, this time in a good way, and not long after Stiles was able to convince him to go to sleep.

He tried to argue, but it was impossible, and he swore he’d get back at Stiles for this, to which Stiles replied with ‘can’t wait’.

 

The next morning Isaac managed to convince Derek that walking to school along all the busy roads wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially when he was going to meet Scott halfway anyway. Not to say that Derek was completely happy with it but he knew that the likelihood of him being attacked in broad daylight was low.

So he set off, thinking about everything and wondering how they were going to work a way around it all. He stayed vigilant, he knew that he had to keep his wits about him and his senses tuned in to anything that might not sound right.

He was only a street or two from Scott’s house when he heard someone call out his name.

“Isaac!”

He knew that voice, it was Cassie, and so he pretended he didn’t hear her. He told Scott he would keep it cool for a while, and maybe that should be until after they’ve dealt with these hunters.

“Isaac!” she called again.

He knew she wasn’t going to let him keep walking so he stopped, hearing her jog to stand behind him.

“Hey there stranger,” she said. “Haven’t heard from you in a while, everything okay?”

“Hey Cass, yeah, sorry I haven’t called or anything just I’ve been so busy with―” he paused when he turned and looked up at her.

She had a busted lip, split at the corner and swollen on one side. There was a long purple bruise forming up the side of her face and just under her eye.

“Shit Cassie, what the hell happened?” he asked.

“Oh,” she said, reaching up to brush her fingers over the black and blue skin. “Nothing really, I just walked into a door when someone opened it, just me being clumsy.”

He heard the tick in her heartbeat and sighed as he looked over the angry mark.

“You’re lying Cass, I know you are,” he said softly.

She shook her head, still smiling. “No, I’m not.”

“I’ve known you for years Cass,” he said. “Did Cal do this? Did he hit you?”

She shook her head, “No, no he didn’t, it was an accident, completely.”

There it was again, that tick.

“Cass,” he said.

“Isaac, just leave it alone, okay? I’m fine,” she said softly.

“I told you I wasn’t going to do that anymore,” he said.

“Well I’m asking you to, okay? This was my fault,” she said, motioning to her face. “It’s fine.”

Isaac sighed, “You know if you ever wanted someone to kick his ass…”

“You’ll be the first one I call,” she said, “Seriously Isaac, please just drop it.”

He nodded and she sighed loudly, the smile back on her lips.

“So you want to go out for coffee again soon? You can bring Scott,” she said.

“Yeah, soon, I just have a lot on my mind right now, you know, school and stuff.”

“Okay, well just don’t be a stranger, okay?” she said, leaning in to hug him.

He wrapped his arms around her and couldn’t help feeling sad, she was lying about that bruise and he knew it. He had never really known how to save anyone, least of all Cassie. So he let her go and she turned to head off in another direction as he made his way to Scott’s place, his mood severely dampened.

When Scott came out to meet him he noticed immediately.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” he sighed. “I just… I ran into Cassie just then.”

“Oh, well, what did she want?” he asked, trying to be casual but failing.

“Just to talk,” Isaac said.

“Okay,” Scott replied as they started walking.

“She had this, this huge bruise up one side of her face,” he said, staring down at his feet. “I think Cal hit her, maybe a few times, I don’t know, I think she had some make-up to cover but it wasn’t really helping.”

“Shit, really? What did she say?” Scott asked.

“Well nothing, obviously.”

“How do you know it was Cal?”

“I heard her heartbeat, alright?” he snapped.

Scott started staring off ahead in silence and Isaac sighed.

“Sorry, I just… she’s still my friend, even if we aren’t speaking for a while, even after what happened and what I promised you I can’t just not care that someone’s hurting her. I made her promises too Scott, when we were younger.”

“It’s okay, Isaac, I get it. No one deserves to be treated like a piece of shit.”

“I don’t know how to help her though, I mean with everything happening now it’s too much to deal with.”

“So just keep checking in on her, forget about what you said. You know you can’t do anything to help if she won't admit to it though, right?” Scott said.

“I know, I’ll just have to let her know I’m here and then just… wait.”

He let out a loud sigh and Scott reached down to take his hand.

“You know, you probably care too much about people,” he said with a smile.

“That’s my biggest problem is it?” Isaac asked, leaning in to the side to rest his head against Scott’s.

“Well I wouldn’t say it’s your biggest problem but it’s up there,” Scott smiled and Isaac elbowed him in the side.

 

Derek sent Stiles off to school, despite his protests. He maintained that school was no place for someone who had better things to deal with.

Derek just growled and eventually Stiles had given up.

He dropped him off at the school and headed straight for the clinic to find that Deaton had already arrived. He walked through the doors and he was standing with Boyd and Karissa who both turned to look at Derek as Deaton looked up at him.

“How’s Daisy?” he asked and Boyd and Karissa gave one another a short glare. “What happened?”

“We assume she’s made a full recovery,” Deaton said.

“What do you mean assume?”

“Well, there’s a debate as to how she managed to disappear without a trace under either of their noses,” he said.

“He was asleep, and I was in the damn foyer!” Karissa said, “You wouldn’t think she could be so quiet that she didn’t either alert me or wake you.”

“Or maybe you just let her go out there alone,” Boyd said.

“I told you, she saved my life, and that means something to me, means I owe her a debt, do you really think I would release her to the―”

“Don’t say it, it’s not funny,” Boyd said, shaking his head.

“Both of you, enough arguing,” Derek said. “It’s not like it’s the first time she’s disappeared. Clearly she’s still loyal enough to her back to go back, or at least to leave once she could walk so there isn’t much we can do about that.”

“They left her practically dead on the doorstep!” Boyd said.

“And he healed her, and she left, back to them. The same as she did after last time,” Derek said firmly. “If she can't break free from Katherine then you can't make her, believe me.”

Boyd just sighed, heading towards the door.

“Keep your eyes open,” Derek said, knowing that he needed some time with just his thoughts.

Boyd nodded, and then he was gone.

“How are you feeling Derek? No side effects?” Deaton asked.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Good,” Deaton said. “If you need anything else…”

“Thank you,” he said, and Deaton headed out the back to set up for the day.

“Listen Derek,” Karissa started.

“I don’t blame either of you for Daisy leaving, she’s not my pack, I can’t force her to stay.”

“Not that,” she said.

She bit down on her lip and looked up at him worriedly.

“I know you said that you had to go out to the woods this afternoon, to where Lydia thought she…” she sighed heavily again. “I haven’t heard from my sister since she went out to… hunt doesn’t really seem like the right word but in this case… she went out looking for a one night stand, no more losing control. But I haven’t heard from her in almost two days and she wouldn’t do that to me, not after…”

Derek felt something in the pit of his stomach sink, because that sounded too familiar.

“I don’t… if she is out there I can't wait hours to find her. I need to know if that’s my sister out there,” she said, her voice cracking. “I need to know.”

Derek nodded, taking out his phone to call Lydia.

He asked her to send through the location, nothing else, he didn’t tell her about Freya and he just hoped that Lydia’s apparent ability to find death was wrong this time. She reluctantly agreed and sent him the GPS location.

Karissa got into his car and the two drove out to the spot in the woods, not too far from where they were the night before. He offered to go in first but Karissa shook her head, so they entered the trees side by side and Derek could smell it instantly. The stench of death hung in the air and it was like someone had squeezed the life out of him when Karissa’s heartbroken scream rang out through the trees at the sight of her sister strung up on one of the trees, throat slashed, bullet through her skull and a dagger in her chest.

She dropped to the floor and cried out, her mother gone, and now her only sister. She was alone, and next on the list and every fibre of her soul was aching.

Derek felt pain in every choked sob because he had once been Karissa, the last sister, the last of his family, torn into pieces before him and nowhere to go.

The anger brimmed in him too, there was no justice in vigilante killings, only someone’s biased idea of it. So he walked over to Freya, found an empty patch of tree beside her body and took out his claws, carving a spiral into the brittle bark.

Karissa was hunched over on the ground, her shoulders shaking and Derek just waited, turning away to let her grieve. She may have suspected it, she might have known long before today that something was wrong, or that something like this could happen, but it did nothing to numb the pain.

After a few minutes she stood up slowly and walked over to Freya, her face covered in tears as she brushed her sister’s hair out of her face and kissed her on the cheek.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered.

She walked over to Derek and he said nothing, he just gave her a look and she nodded.

“Let’s go,” she said, leading the way back to the car and trying to hold back her emotions.

She sat in the back of the Camaro on the way to Derek’s loft, staring out the window with a blank expression on her face. For once she had nothing to say, no words, no sarcasm, and when they got to the loft he showed her the spare bedroom and she locked herself inside for what must have been hours.

Derek sat downstairs trying it think it all through, and failing.

One thing he did know, these hunters weren’t going to get Karissa, or any members of his pack. Not if he had anything to do with it.


	38. Chapter Thirty-Eight

The pack met that afternoon at the loft, Derek hadn’t yet told them what they had found and Stiles was slightly annoyed that Derek and Karissa had gone without even Lydia there with them.

“All I’m saying is that maybe you could have waited, what if you needed a human to help? Break you out of some mountain ash or something,” Stiles said with a shrug, the first one to arrive at the loft and taking his chance to bring it up.

“Stiles…”

“I mean I know there’s something up with Lydia but she’s still human. What if it was a trap?” he continued, ignoring Derek.

“Stiles…”

“ _What if_ someone was waiting there to ambush you and it was just you and the―”

“It was her sister Stiles,” Derek said finally, cutting him off. “Karissa’s sister, Freya.”

Stiles’ mouth gaped open for a moment, bewildered, and then he put his hand to his face with a sigh, “shit.”

“She had a bad feeling, hadn’t heard from her in longer than she should have and thought that maybe we’d find her at the spot where Lydia was drawn,” Derek said, sighing and looking down at his feet. “We did.”

“Same as her mother I’m guessing,” Stiles said and Derek nodded. “And that probably means that Karissa is next, I mean they sure as hell were aiming for her last night.”

“I know, but their guns were filled with wolfsbane bullets Stiles,” he said.

“So? They’re still bullets, still would have killed her if they’d got the aim right.”

“That’s not my point Stiles,” Derek said, “My point is that yes, maybe they were aiming for her, but werewolves are also on their list, and it’s possible they know who we are by now, after last night especially.”

“Well then we keep on the look-out for anything suspicious, and try not to get into anymore arguments with Katherine,” Stiles said. “We are not going to let them beat us, and they aren’t going to get to Karissa either. Where is she anyway? I can't really imagine her going back to the place she stayed with her sister.”

“She’s upstairs.”

“Wait what? She’s here? _Now_?”

“That’s what I said Stiles,” Derek said. “And don’t you dare go up there, give her some time to process it all.”

“I’m not going to go up there. I mean it’s not like I hated her but we were never really _friends_ , you know?”

“I know,” Derek said.

They waited for the rest of the pack to show up and Derek filled them in on the details. Lydia went very quiet, clearly feeling some kind of guilt for this. It was her who found the last two bodies after all.

“So what now?” Jackson asked after a long while of no one saying anything. “Are we going to protect her? Keep her here where they can track her down and be led straight to us?”

“Well we can’t just leave her on her own,” Scott said.

“We weren’t a whole lot of help finding her family alive, who says she even _wants_ our help?” Erica said.

“You can’t just let her go out there and get killed,” Lydia piped up. “I swear to god I don’t want to have to find her body too.”

“Hey, you won't, okay? No more fucking dying,” Stiles said.

“My dad has started getting those files you wanted, all the information he has on other hunters he knows of,” Allison chimed in.

“Alright,” Derek said, breaking apart the conversation. “I want everyone to keep their wits about them from now on. The bullets from last night were laced with wolfsbane, which means that whoever is doing this is after more than just Karissa and her family. The odds are that we’re next, we know they know about us. They know about Katherine and hers, Boyd, have you heard anything from Daisy?” he asked and Boyd shook his head.

“Nothing, not a word, not a text. She’s just gone.”

“It’s possible that they gave up on their motives and skipped town. Better to have to make new plans than to end up dead. I want to know if you hear from her,” Boyd nodded and then he turned his attentions to Erica and Jackson. “I want to know if any of you hear about the other two, Jackson, keep Danny close, I want to know if Ethan says anything to him. I know they were together so he might reach out to him if they have decided to leave.”

“Believe me, I think it’s overdue,” Jackson said, his dislike for Ethan a secret from nobody.

As Derek’s eyes lingered on Erica she rolled her eyes. “Yes, okay, if I hear from Aiden I’ll tell you. We weren’t that close if I’m honest.”

“That still doesn’t answer the question of what we’re going to do about Karissa,” Isaac said with a sigh.

“You don’t have to do anything about me.”

“You know, I may not have werewolf super hearing, but you guys speak really loudly.”

They all looked up to see Karissa slowly walking down the loft’s spiral stairs. None of them had heard her leave the bedroom and none of them really knew what to say to her.

“Wow, you all got real quiet as soon as I stepped into the room.”

“How are you doing?” Scott asked and Derek shook his head a little.

“I’m not going to answer that, I don’t think I need to… not given the circumstances.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Derek said. “It’ll be safety in numbers anyway.”

“I’m not staying here,” she said.

Derek raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean you’re not staying?”

“It means I can’t stay here, not that I want to leave,” she said, staring him down. “I _can’t_ stay here Derek.”

“We can help, we can make sure you don’t leave our sight,” Isaac said.

She smiled weakly. “It’s too late for that.”

“You can’t just give up,” Stiles said.

She turned to him, “I’m not giving up. I will hide myself from these people, whoever they are, for the rest of my life if I have to, but I know that it doesn’t matter where I go there will always be someone trying to hunt me down. I can’t stay here, I have nothing left. My entire family is gone, everyone who I love is dead. I don’t mean to be rude but you have no idea what this hole in my chest feels like.”

Stiles’ eyes flashed to Derek who kept his gaze on Karissa.

She sniffed, swallowing back a sob as her bottom lip trembled. “They’re gone, and now I’m alone and I don’t know how I'm going to do this. All I know is that I can’t stay in this town.”

“Tell me what you need,” Derek said. “Anything.”

She shrugged and the tears dropped from her eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “A lift to the train maybe? I don’t know that I want to be waiting around all night here, not after everything.”

“I can take you,” Jackson offered and she gave him a small smile.

“Have something to eat before you go,” Derek said, walking into the kitchen to see if he had anything decent.

“I’m not all that hungry to be honest, but I’ll grab a glass of water,” she said.

Derek nodded and led her in, the others all still milling about near the couches and Boyd crashed down into one with a sigh.

“You ever feel like we’re in over our heads?” he asked.

“Every single day,” Stiles sighed.

He watched Derek in the kitchen with Karissa as he poured her a glass and went back to his pantry. He saw him take something out and block Karissa from the view of the others and hand it to her. She seemed to stare at him for a moment before tentatively taking it, pocketing it quickly.

Stiles had no idea what it was but he made a mental note to ask later, when they were alone. Derek gave her some space and came back in to wait with the others until she wandered in. Jackson pulled his keys from his pockets and looked over at her as if asking whether she was ready to get going.

“I want to thank you all for… well for trying,” she said.

“Least we could do,” Isaac shrugged.

“If you need anything, you know if you ever come back…” Scott said and she nodded.

“Thank you,” she said before walking towards Jackson and the door.

Before she got there she paused, turning slowly to look back. “Derek,” she said and he looked up to meet her gaze. “Those things I said to you last year, in the hospital, when I told you that you were toxic… I didn’t mean them.”

He sighed a little, keeping their eyes locked and gave her a small nod.

“I wanted to get to you,” she shrugged. “I had – I have some issues with anger and lashing out. Truth is the whole thing could have worked with you, but Scott had known Stiles longer, the foundations were stable. That’s the only reason I asked him. I just, I just thought you should know.”

He nodded again, this time dropping her gaze.

“You’re actually surprisingly good, as far as werewolves go.”

“Thank you,” he said and she flashed a small smile and turned back around.

Her eyes met Isaac’s and she raised an eyebrow. “You’re not as stupid as I first thought you were.”

He smiled, “Yeah well you’re not as evil or psychotic as I thought you were.”

She reached out to touch his arm and he wasn’t sure if she had done it, but he felt a sense of warmth rush through him. It slowly faded as she took her hands away and Scott came to put his arm around Isaac’s waist.

She was almost at the door when she stopped in front of Lydia, giving her a strange look.

“I don’t know what you are,” she began. “I can’t figure it out, just don’t let it intimidate you.”

“Intimidate me?” Lydia asked.

“Don’t let it control you, don’t let it break you. Don’t fight it. Maybe you’re just psychic, maybe it’s something else, but don’t let it become the thing that makes you lose your control.”

“Believe me, I won't,” Lydia said and Karissa gave her a nod before looking up at Jackson.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Good luck,” Stiles said and she gave one last look at the room, sharing with them all a parting glance and then she and Jackson were gone. “Now what?” he asked.

“Now we lay low, stay careful and vigilant. Stiles you and Allison can go through the information Chris has found when he finishes compiling it, the rest of you… find out what you can, and just stick to laying low.”

Derek spoke quickly and then headed upstairs, not looking back or saying anything else to any of them. Most of them waited until they heard the bedroom door close and then they turned to look at Stiles. He shrugged a little and shook his head.

“Don’t ask, I don’t even know.”

“Well, I think we should get back home,” Scott said, “Isaac, you coming with me?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I think I will.”

Stiles waited them all out before staring up at the stairs, letting out a sigh as he headed up. He knew this would strike a chord with Derek, of course it would, he just didn’t think the others needed him to explain that to them.

He slowly opened the door, looking inside to see Derek lying in bed, shirtless torso sticking out from under the sheet and his eyes closed. Stiles just looked at him for a moment before undressing himself and sliding into bed behind him.

For a moment he just stared down at him, lifting his hand to stroke through his hair and he felt him stir.

“Yes Stiles, I’m awake,” Derek mumbled.

“I figured,” he said. “You know, you don’t have to say anything, I would totally go along with silence from you right now.”

“I know Stiles,” he said turning onto his back and slipping an arm around him. Stiles let his hand come to rest on Derek’s stomach and just stared down at him.

“I just have one question,” he asked and Derek seemed to smile as if he knew that Stiles would have to have something to say.

“Yeah?”

“What… what did you give to Karissa?” he asked and Derek opened his eyes to look up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw you give her something in the kitchen and I was sort of wondering, well, what was it?” he shrugged a little.

Derek sighed, leaning up to kiss Stiles a moment before lying back down. “Money,” he said.

“Money? What – where did it even come from? Why were you―”

“Because Stiles,” he started, cutting him off. “I know what it’s like to try and start a new life, if I’d had nothing, no money, no family, I wouldn’t have known how to cope. It wasn’t much, respectively. Just enough to give her a start.”

Stiles nodded, snuggling down beside Derek. “That was sweet,” he said and Derek just groaned.

“Don’t call it that.”

“Well how about you tell me just how much your respective monetary value is?” Stiles added instead and Derek rolled so that he had Stiles’ back pressed against his chest, holding his little spoon tightly into him.

“How about we get some sleep?” he said.

“One day you’re going to have to tell me how you survive without a job,” Stiles said, wriggling about a bit in Derek’s grip until he was comfortable.

“Not tonight Stiles,” he mumbled.

“I know not tonight but at some point―”

“Stiles, can you just… can we just do this for now, please?” he asked and Stiles closed him mouth, nodding a little as Derek sighed, nuzzling into him and holding him a little too tight.

 

 

The next few days were tenuous to say the least. Karissa was gone, Jackson had waited and watched her get on a train to nowhere specific, she didn’t tell him where she was going. After that he had gone straight to Danny’s place, called it an emergency study session despite the fact that he didn’t have his books or assignment information. Danny had just laughed because that really wasn’t all that unusual for Jackson. They all had school assignments that they had let seriously slip out of their priorities and spent their time trying to catch up while missing out on sleep and watching their backs religiously.

The sheriff had scolded Stiles for being out so much, he made him come back home after school and get his study done, saying that anyone wanted to see him they had to come to their place to do it. Obviously Stiles had protested and when Derek came to see him he had a good sulk because _of_ _course_ his boyfriend sided with his father.

Isaac had taken to bed hopping, from the one at Derek’s place when he wasn’t staying at Stiles’, to Scott’s the rest of the time. He didn’t really want to be alone but he didn’t want the others to be either. Scott could see that it was taking its toll.

Lydia was anxious, very anxious, especially one night when her mother wouldn’t let her out. She could see that Lydia was stressed and refused to give her back her keys. That was probably a good thing. The next morning she told Stiles that she didn’t know where she wanted to go or even really why, but she was terrified that it might have been to find Karissa’s body.

It turns out that what she had felt may have been something after all. That day they had found the bodies of Rico and Havier, the two wolves that Katherine had commissioned to fight for them the night their packs met. Same situation, only this time the police had found them in a circle of what appeared to be a fine black powder.

Stiles had read through the files that his dad had left on the desk while he went for a shower, naturally, the whole pack knew about three minutes later.

That was a week after they had found Freya, and Boyd and Erica still hadn’t heard anything from Aiden or Daisy. Jackson said that Danny hadn’t heard from Ethan either and was finding it a little strange that it coincided with Jackson’s sudden clingy-friend behaviour, but mostly just worried about whether or not Ethan was okay.

Even Peter had lost sight of them, they seemed to be in the wind. That was, at least, until the next Friday night.

They hadn’t seen any real action for a while, and that seemed to make them calm down a little. Derek sat up in his bed reading, Stiles and Isaac were making an awful lot of noise downstairs while they cooked – if you could call it that – and it was nice to have a moment alone to turn off his mind.

It didn’t last long.

His phone buzzed on the table beside him and for a moment he thought that maybe it was Stiles being too lazy to come up the stairs to ask him for something but things were never that easy. He looked down at the phone and felt his body grow still, it was from Katherine.

 

Meet me at your old home, alone. This is for you and me to settle, alpha to alpha.

                                K.

 

He had thought they were done with her pack, but apparently not. With none of them having heard from any of her pack member they had assumed that they had run from the danger, given up on their initial plans to save themselves the trouble.

Clearly this was not the case. It was the same number as last time but Derek was still cautious.

He wasn’t about to bring one of his pack members along in case it angered Katherine and she lashed out. He couldn’t just go in blindly either.

Stiles and Isaac weren’t going to like it but he knew had to tell them before he left, he needed to tell someone anyway. He knew they would strongly oppose it, but what other choice did he have?

He headed down to see the two of them standing in the kitchen and he raised an eyebrow at them.

“Why do the two of you look like you’re up to something?” he asked.

“Lydia’s coming over, we’re going to try and figure out what she is,” Stiles said.

“What she is?” Derek repeated.

“She has to be something, even if it is just psychic,” Isaac said. “We’ve devised a number of tests to figure it out.”

Derek didn’t know whether to laugh or roll his eyes but he opted for the latter as he walked over to the hook by the door to grab his jacket.

“Where are you going?” Stiles asked suspiciously.

Derek sighed, “I got a message from Katherine, she wanted to meet alone.”

“You think that’s smart?” Isaac asked.

“I think I need to get this over with.”

“No, no, you’re not going alone,” Stiles said. “Take Scott with you.”

“What, no, why Scott?” Isaac asked, his head snapping up to look at Stiles.

“Oh so it’s okay if Derek dies but not Scott? I’m not saying that either of them dying is a good option,” Stiles added.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying, I just meant why does anyone have to go? I don’t want anyone to die,” Isaac said, looking down at his hands and then shrugging. “Scott especially.”

“No one is going to die,” Derek said, rolling his eyes at the two of them. “No one has heard from them since the last confrontation. She wants to meet alone, I’ll go alone. I’m only telling you so you know where I’m going.”

“You mean you’re only telling us so that if you die we’ll know where to find you?” Stiles griped, folding his arms tightly.

Derek huffed impatiently. “No, can the two of you stop talking? I’ll be in the same place as the other night and if you’re so worried about me you can call every half hour to check.”

“I’ll call every twenty minutes,” Stiles said. “And I still think it’s the stupidest idea you’ve had in a while.”

“I agree,” Isaac nodded.

“I’m the alpha,” Derek said through gritted teeth. “I’m responsible for you, all of you, and if this is what it takes to make sure you’re safe from Katherine’s tactics then this is what I’m going to do,” he snapped and Isaac looked down at his feet.

Stiles kept his gaze on Derek but sighed in defeat. “Well, I know I can’t argue with that so…” he said bitterly.

Derek walked over to him and kissed him, hands clasping the sides of his face before pulling him back to look him in the eye.

“You could argue with anything Stiles,” he said and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“And here I was thinking you were going to say something endearing or comforting,” he grumbled.

“I just did,” Derek said, walking away from him and toward the doors.

“Can you just try not to do anything stupid like get yourself killed?” Stiles called.

“No promises,” Derek quipped back.

Stiles groaned. “I swear, if he doesn’t die, I’m going to kill him myself.”

 

It wasn’t long before Lydia showed up at the loft, very sceptical of the whole thing but somehow still willing to try. Stiles was still grumpy about Derek leaving but his spiel about being an alpha was something that he couldn’t understand and he knew that Derek felt like it was his duty to fix this.

“Okay,” Lydia said, putting her hands out and looking from Isaac to Stiles. “How are we doing this?”

Isaac and Stiles gave one another a look. “Well, we have a few things we can try,” Stiles said, “not that we know if any of them will work.”

“Alright, so what’s your first idea then?” she asked and Isaac pulled out a slip with some photos in it.

She gave them both a ‘really’ look and Isaac shrugged.

“If she thinks _this_ is stupid wait until she sees the tarot cards,” he said and Lydia rolled her eyes before walking over to sit at the bench.

“Let’s just get this over with,” she said and Isaac took some pictures out.

“That one,” Stiles said, pointing to one of them and Isaac handed it to her.

“What am I supposed to do with it?” she asked.

“Well… you look at it,” Isaac said.

“Why?”

“Well, what kind of feeling do you get from it?” Stiles asked.

She looked down at the picture for a moment. “He looks like a guy posing for a photo,” she said and both the boys sighed.

Isaac took it from her. “It’s Scott’s uncle, he lives in Arizona.”

Stiles handed her the next one, “Okay here, how about this one?”

She stared at it and looked back up at the two of them. “A nice old lady?” she asked.

“That’s my grandma,” Stiles said and Lydia looked at them questioningly. “See, Scott’s uncle is still alive while my grandma isn’t.”

Lydia’s lips made a silent ‘oh’ and she nodded. “So you expected me to know that by looking at the photo?”

“Can you just focus Lydia? This is important,” Stiles said and she rolled her eyes with a sigh.

“Fine, okay, give me another one.”

 

Derek drove out to the woods, he replied to the message with a simple ‘I’ll be there’ and true to his word, he’ll be there alone. He knew Stiles was worried, he knew that from the messages he sent after he left.

 

**_From Stiles:_ ** _Just be careful, okay?_

**_From Stiles:_ ** _I’m serious, you better answer your phone when I call._

 

Derek sighed and sent a reply before he got out to walk the short distance to his old house.

 

 **To Stiles:** I’m getting out of the car now, happy?

**_From Stiles:_ ** _No, course not._

 

He sighed but there was nothing much he could do. He climbed out of the car and looked around warily, using all his senses to assess the situation. He could smell Katherine, her scent was strong and he knew that she was here somewhere. He could still catch the faint scent of his pack members from when they were here the other night, he could smell the dried blood and the wind blew quietly around him.

He took a few cautious steps, following her scent to the house where it led up the porch steps.

“Katherine?” he called firmly, his eyes glowing red as he stared into the dark ruins.

She didn’t answer but he could still smell her and so he walked up the steps and stood in the doorway. He kept his wits about him, his phone in his hand as he stepped into the foyer and looked around.

He didn’t like the feel of it and he called her name again.

“Katherine!” he said, taking a few more steps inside and following the familiar scent, making his footsteps as quietly as possible.

 

Boyd sat at home trying to study, he had a geometry test on Monday and for once he’d like his father to look at it and not tell him that he wasn’t studying hard enough. He was at his kitchen table and his mother and father were out for the evening, some kind of function that they had.

He was almost done when he heard a noise come from down the hall. He looked up cautiously. Could whoever this was hunting the supernatural know where he lives? He pushed his chair out slowly, backing himself up to the kitchen as he heard what was probably a window opening.

Careful not to make much sound himself he opened a drawer and pulled out a large knife, his claws extending as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt and slowly made his way down the hall.

His bedroom door was open and he bared his teeth in a snarl as he barged through, coming face to face with a very startled looking Daisy. His eyes grew wide and he dropped the knife to his side, pulling back and staring at her.

“Daisy? What the hell are you doing here?” he said.

“Is this a bad time?” she asked, her eyes darting down to the blade in Boyd’s hand.

“Sorry…” he said as he put the knife down on his dresser. “Why are you here?”

“I came here to explain everything, okay?” she said.

She wasn’t wearing one of her trademark summer dresses. Tonight she wore black skinny jeans and a dark zip up jacket with sneakers. He gave her a once over and looked back at her face. She looked sincere and her hand was now wrapped tightly around his wrist.

He sighed. “You’re not going to be cagey? Or secretive?”

“Vernon I don’t want to hide anything from you anymore. I never really did,” she said.

“So what’s going on?” he asked.

She let him go with a sigh, turning away to walk over and sit on his bed. He followed her, sitting by her side and waiting for her to start.

“I should probably start at the beginning,” she said, staring down at her knees. “Katherine approached me back in my home town, that was the first time I met her. I come from just outside Bozeman Montana, I was… I guess you’d call it a ward of the state. I never had parents, as far as I can remember, I grew up in an orphanage and never got adopted. I didn’t really have any friends… she found me one day when I went out walking. I did it a lot just through the streets or the parks.

“She asked me why I went walking every day. I guess she’d seen me before in my sweats and hoodies. I should probably mention that I was slightly overweight before she turned me. My metabolism was terrible and I had diabetes. I think that’s why she honed in on me.”

“You never said any of this before,” Boyd said and she smiled a little.

“I never needed to,” she said. “Anyway, she was nice to me, took an interest. I noticed things about her, she was different. Slowly she started explaining them to me. She asked me if I had ever felt free,” she scoffed a little to herself. “I was a teenager who had to carry around a syringe in her bag every day and test my blood on this little chart… Freedom was not exactly something that I thought I had.

“After a few weeks she asked me to go with her. She told me that she was travelling across the country and that I wouldn’t have to go to school or stay in that group home… she offered me freedom, if I’d just let her give it to me.”

“She gave you the bite,” Boyd said, filling in the gap.

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, she did. It was, unlike anything I have ever felt before. Everything she said was true. So we left as soon as the bite took and things were… great… for a while.

“We uh, we headed into Wyoming, she said she knew of a pack there and that she wanted to find others to join us. I didn’t really see why we needed them but she insisted that there would be safety in numbers. That’s where we found Ethan and Aiden.

“I don’t know if you know about this, they were omegas when we found them. I don’t mean oppressed or under a strict rule like Katherine’s, I mean they were treated like… like animals. Not even like animals, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to treat animals like that. It was my job to get them alone, Katherine’s job was to convince them to join us and then…”

“Then what Daisy?”

“And then kill their alpha, so they would have no ties holding them back.”

Boyd nodded, “and did you…?”

She shook her head. “I never killed anyone, but I did infiltrate their pack, convinced the others that they needed a new change in leadership, that Ethan and Aiden were coming with us and that something needed to be done about their alpha. I know he was killed, I just… I don’t know who ended up doing it. Honestly I think the whole pack tore one another apart, but we were long gone by then.”

She sniffed a little and Boyd put his hand on her knee. She looked down at it and then back up at him with a smile.

“That’s where the rest of you come in.”

“The plan to take from our pack too?” She nodded.

“Katherine had heard of a new pack forming in Beacon Hills with a Hale as the alpha. No one really knew what happened to Derek and his sister, the one who survived. So when she heard that he had three betas she wanted one or more for herself.”

“Wait, why was she poaching wolves from other packs? She bit you, why couldn’t she make her own?” Boyd asked, the whole thing had always confused him.

“I didn’t know until just recently, I used to bring it up and she would snap at me to stop asking questions. She was so mad and I just asked her again, she really did snap. She told me that she had tried before me, that she had bitten someone else, and that she tried again after me. Out of the five people she tried to turn, I was the only one to survive the bite.”

“It’s not the alpha that controls that though, she has to know that,” Boyd said.

“I think she does, it just spooked her. I mean once is just a thing that happens, twice and then three times… it became a pattern and I think it made her angrier, more paranoid that other packs would be stronger, that she would become weak because she couldn’t make more betas. She needed more so that she could be strong.

“So she decided she wanted to take from Derek and we showed up here, only there were more of you than she realised. She didn’t count on Jackson or Scott, and that made it harder. So we had to get closer to you guys. Ethan latched on to Danny because at that point she was still looking for someone to turn. I’m pretty sure she’s too skittish to try that anymore.

“Her paranoia made her angry and nasty, it made her lash out. When you all saw her scratch me, it didn’t heal properly for at least an entire day. So she called Rico and Havier to come down to help her at least wound some of you. I think it was clear that we failed at getting any of you to join us.”

“I need to know something Daisy,” Boyd said. “What happened that night? After you got shot?”

“I don’t remember a lot of it,” she confessed. “I remember hearing Katherine’s voice, saying that we needed to leave, get out of this cursed town before it got to all of us. After that all I remember was waking up at the clinic and waiting for your friend Karissa to walk out into the foyer before slipping out the back. I’m quite good at sneaking around.”

Boyd raised an eyebrow with a smile, “I’ve noticed.”

She smiled back but even after her explanation Boyd still didn’t know what she was doing there.

“So you left Beacon Hills?” he asked. “After that, when you went back to them?”

She nodded. “For a while, we were still in Beacon County, just far away from anywhere we’d once stayed. We’ve been laying low since the fight, since I got shot.”

“Am I missing something? Daisy, why are you here?” he asked and she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone.

“Because of this,” she said, holding out a message to show him.

He stared down at it with confusion.

 

I want you to meet me at the lacrosse pitch at the high school. Tomorrow night, 9pm. Tell no one.

                                K.

 

Boyd started down at the message and then back up at Daisy. “I don’t understand… why would this make you come back?”

“I haven’t seen Katherine in two days,” she said and Boyd’s stomach turned. “She wouldn’t disappear and then ask to see me alone, especially not there. Something isn’t right.”

“Do Ethan and Aiden know?” she shook her head and Boyd stood up, taking his phone out of his pocket. “We’re going to figure this out okay? We are.”

He dialled Derek’s number and put the phone to his ear, already wishing this nightmare would end.

 

 

Stiles was getting more and more frustrated with this whole thing as they got further into it, nothing they did seemed to work. Isaac was starting to feel the hopelessness of their task but was nowhere near as agitated as Stiles was.

“Lydia, just try to see if you can feel anything from it,” he said as she held a set of keys that had once belonged to Isaac’s dad in her hand.

She huffed out a sigh and closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything that might help. She let out another sigh, this time it was out of frustration.

“Nothing,” she said.

“We have tried Ouija boards and tarot cards, we had flash cards… nothing is helping us _at all_ ,” Stiles said rubbing his forehead.

“Maybe there is nothing to find here,” Isaac said and Stiles shook his head.

“She found two bodies and practically predicted the death of two others… _something_ is here to find.”

“Well do we have any other ideas?” Isaac asked.

“Uh yeah, last one,” he said as he took a pen and paper out of his bag and gave it to her.

“What exactly am I doing now?”

“Automatic writing,” Stiles said and Isaac looked confused. “Basically it’s just a way for the subconscious to be expressed on paper. You just write whatever’s in your head, just you know… go.”

“I can’t just write about nothing Stiles,” she said.

“Well how about you just start writing something and maybe it will come out!” he snapped. “Sorry, sorry… maybe I should call Peter and ask him how the hell he managed to use you to bring him back.”

“That’s not the worst idea you’ve had all night,” Isaac shrugged.

“It’s better than the Ouija board…” Lydia said as she began sketching something on the page.

Stiles scowled over at her while he searched through his phone for Peter’s number. Isaac watched her drawing for a few moments before he sighed and turned away. How did they think this was ever going to tell them anything?

Peter’s phone rang through to voicemail and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“ _Dearest apologies that I can’t answer your call, by all means, leave a name and number and I’ll get back to you…”_

Stiles scoffed, “Jesus, his damn voice mail is just as pretentious as he is… Peter, it’s Stiles, stop screening your phone calls and answer me,” he said before hanging up.

Less than a minute later Stiles’ phone was ringing and he answered it with silence.

“I didn’t expect a call from you Stiles, tell me, why the late enquiry?” he drawled.

“I want to know how you used Lydia to bring you back,” he said quickly.

“No hello? How are you? You young people are all about directness aren’t you?” he said.

“Do you know what she is? Do you know why she can do the things she can do?” he was done with Peter’s stupid attitude.

“No, I don’t know what she is, and as for how I came back, that is slightly more complicated,” he said.

Stiles just sighed, he was never going to get anything useful out of him.

It was at that moment that Isaac’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen, it was Boyd.

“Hey Boyd, what’s going on?” he said.

“Where’s Derek?” he asked straight away.

Isaac sighed, “He’s gone to meet Katherine, alone. She sent him a message not long ago.”

“You need to call him, tell him not to go,” he said and Isaac’s brow furrowed.

“Boyd, what’s wrong?”

“Daisy’s here with me, she got a message from Katherine too, they haven’t seen her in two days. I tried calling Derek but he’s not answering.”

Isaac’s face must have gone white because suddenly Stiles was looking over at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Isaac? Isaac what is it?” he asked, Peter still on the line.

“You’re sure, you’re sure she hasn’t seen her?” Isaac asked again.

“I’m sure Isaac, something isn’t right about this.”

Isaac’s eyes looked around a little and locked onto Lydia’s drawing, his body going numb as her pen still skidded about on the page. He hung up the phone and walked slowly over to stand by Lydia’s shoulder.

Stiles watched him, panic growing inside of his body to as Isaac looked up at him with a look of total horror.

“Stiles…” he said and Stiles practically ran over to look down at the page.

“Lydia, what the hell are you drawing?” he said as he stared down at it and she just dropped her pen, staring at the page with disbelief.

“I… I don’t… oh my god…” she said, her hand shaking.

They looked down at the sketch and Stiles felt his whole body tense. Her drawing was of a house, an old house that looked damaged and partially destroyed… and it was on fire.

“Derek,” Stiles said in barely a croak. “She’s going after Derek.”


	39. Chapter Thirty-Nine

“Stiles, Stiles hold on!” Isaac said as Stiles rushed around collecting his keys and jacket.

“You want me to hang around and wait?” he asked incredulously. “Lydia just drew a picture of Derek’s burning house which is a pretty clear sign don’t you think?”

“You can’t just go out there alone! How the hell are you going to defend yourself?”

“I have a bat in my car,” he shrugged a little. “You can’t stop me Isaac.”

He was through the doors before Isaac could say another word. He grunted and paced back to Lydia who was staring down at her picture, brow furrowed and breathing heavily.

Isaac’s phone buzzed from where he had put it down on the table. He picked it up and was instantly assaulted by Peter’s snarling voice.

“Where’s Derek?” he asked.

“His old house, and we have a pretty strong reason to believe he’s in trouble,” Isaac said.

“Isaac we have to go out there,” Lydia said, finally looking up.

“Lydia we―”

“Someone is going to die out there,” she said and he knew that it was more than just a feeling.

Peter was no longer on the phone line and Isaac knew he was probably on his way there. They didn’t really have a choice anymore, they had to go.

Lydia grabbed her keys and they headed down to the woods, not really knowing what they were walking into.

 

Stiles probably drove faster than he ever has in his life.

He could hear the panic in his racing heart and he knew he hadn’t thought this through but what else could he do? He wasn’t about to let Katherine trick Derek into showing up and getting killed.

He didn’t know that the others hadn’t seen her in two days, he didn’t let Isaac explain that much. All he saw was Lydia’s drawing and that was enough to let him know that Derek was in danger, he just didn’t know who the real threat was.

His phone was ringing and he couldn’t tell whether it was Scott or Isaac or maybe Boyd who had tried to call twice already but he didn’t care. Nothing was going to stop him from going out there now.

He skidded around the corner, turning into the woods from the road.

He knew where Derek’s old house was and he knew a shortcut, he would still have to park the jeep and run.

Lydia and Isaac weren’t far behind him, driving on a different route and Isaac’s eyes were darting all over the place trying to see something – anything. He had called Scott as they were leaving and he wasn’t happy about it at all. Isaac hung up on him once they got into Lydia’s car knowing that they needed to concentrate.

Stiles pulled up and reached into the back for his bat before taking off running towards the house. He knew what he was going to come across, he could smell it in the air, but nothing prepared him for the sight he saw as he entered the clearing.

He came to a stop, his eyes wide as he stared up at the crackling, burning house standing alone in the woods.

“Holy shit…” he breathed, his heart pounding.

He heard someone run up beside him and turned to see Peter, staring up at the flames as he fell to his knees. It must have been like déjà vu for him to see his old house like this, and this time Derek was in there.

“ _Derek!_ ” Stiles yelled, hoping and praying that maybe he wasn’t here, maybe he was somewhere else, but he knew.

He dropped the bat beside Peter and ran right towards it, trying to find the spot where the old door was and seeing an opening between the flames, the heat from the fire already making him sweat.

He yelled as he charged through it and into the inferno within.

 

Isaac opened the door to the car and turned back to Lydia, “Stay here, okay? Lock the doors,” he said.

She nodded and they both heard Stiles scream out Derek’s name, a sick feeling spinning in both of their stomachs as Isaac tore away. The smoke from the fire was burning his nose, the scent was heat and ash and more intense than anything he had ever dealt with.

The sight was astonishing.

He could hear the old beams creaking under the lick of the flames and all he saw was Peter knelt on the ground staring up at the blaze. If there was ever a time to believe that Peter had any humanity left, it was right then in that moment.

“Peter!” Isaac shouted over the roar of the fire. “Peter, where’s Stiles?” he asked.

Peter looked up at him, his chest pounding heavily. “He’s gone in after Derek,” he said slowly.

“And you _let him_? He’s human, _he’ll die_!” Isaac growled.

Peter got to his feet, “And Derek might already be dead,” he said.

“Then we have to help them!” Isaac said, turning on his heel to run towards the house and Peter reluctantly followed.

They ran up to the steps and Isaac could already sense Peter’s hesitation. As they ran to the doorway they were blocked by an invisible barrier and Isaac’s stomach just about dropped out.

“I don’t see it, do you see it?” he yelled, trying to shield himself from embers flying past his eyes.

“This was not your rival pack…” Peter said.

“Where’s the line!”

“It’s embedded into the wood, only Stiles can break it and he might not be able to find a weak spot until…” Peter said, trailing off at the end of the sentence.

“Stiles!” Isaac yelled, coughing and spluttering as he swallowed the toxic air.

He felt dizzy, he felt sick. Someone had made the mountain ash a part of the building, sealing it only when Derek was inside, and now he was trapped.

He was trapped in and they were trapped out. Only Stiles could break the join and they didn’t even know where to begin.

It was that moment when they heard an almighty scream tear through the air, seeming to pierce through all the other sounds around them.

Isaac and Peter locked their gaze for a moment.

“Lydia…” Peter said quietly before he turned and ran away from the house to find her.

Isaac wanted to follow but somehow he knew Peter was on their side for this and let him go, knowing that he had to wait for Stiles to get Derek out.

 

The heat was tremendous. The lack of air in his lungs made him feel like an asthmatic. Every feeling his body told him that he needed to get out and find some better air and an atmosphere cooler than an oven but he couldn’t leave without Derek.

Stiles held his shirt over his face and squinted through the thick black cloud that surrounded him. He tried to yell but only choked on the smoke, instead he pushed further in, trying to find him.

His sight was bad and he knew that if he didn’t find him soon it would end up a travesty for the both of them. He scanned the few feet ahead that he could actually see and tried to find pockets of the room that weren’t engulfed by the fire.

By chance he turned to see Derek lying on the floor in the corner of one of the rooms. He wasn’t moving, his body was very still, and every muscle in Stiles’ body was aching.

He could hear Isaac calling to him and he was almost there, he almost had Derek when he heard a rumbling crack that echoed through the ruins. He looked up and scuffled back as quickly as he could, and it was just in time to avoid being crushed by a falling beam from the floor above.

He knew he had to work quickly so he ran to Derek, shaking him and trying to rouse him but he was passed out. Stiles barely had a moment to wonder if he was even still breathing before he heard another rumble from the building and wasn’t about to get killed after coming this far.

He slumped Derek’s arm over his shoulder and began dragging him back towards the door. They moved around the fiery beam and Stiles could hear his wheezy lungs struggling under the extra weight.

He was choking, he could feel it, his throat constricting and his body overheating to a dangerous level but he was nearly there, nearly at the door.

He could see it, the smoke was billowing out and the air was almost getting through, and then as he tried to move through it he felt Derek slip back and he fell through while Derek remained in the burning house.

He looked up wearily and with confusion to see Isaac staring down at him.

“Mountain ash!” he said from under his shirt. “It’s a part of the building somehow! I can't get in and he can't get out!”

“No,” Stiles croaked, “No!”

He pushed himself up on shaking arms and began kicking at the door frame, trying to bust it out but he was too weak. The tears were streaming down his face as he realised that if he couldn’t break this circle then Derek was going to die in there. This was all up to him now.

“I can’t… I can’t break it…” he said, searching the ground, looking for a point where they could have joined the circle.

It was no use, there was ash from the flames everywhere anyway, he would never find the spot in time.

“Stiles!” Isaac said and he turned around to see him holding his aluminium bat out.

He snatched it away and searched for the weakest point in the wood, hoping that this would break him out.

He used all the strength he had left and swung the bat into the frame, watching it crack and crunch before delivering one last blow to snap the brittle border and Isaac dove across the threshold to drag Derek out.

They both hauled him down the porch steps and into clean air with just enough time to spare before the weakened foundation gave way and the spot where they had just stood filled with burning debris.

Stiles collapsed on the ground, trembling on his hands and knees and he coughed up the ash and emptied his stomach. Isaac was holding his head, trying to clear his vision as he rolled Derek onto his back with his spare hand.

Stiles crawled over to him, one hand on his cheek and the other on his shoulder as he shook him.

“Derek!” he croaked. “Derek Hale you better not be dead! Oh god Derek please, please don’t be dead…”

He was still for a moment before he saw him stir a little, still very much unconscious.

“We have to get him to… to Deaton…” Stiles said.

“Lydia’s here, she screamed Stiles,” Isaac said. “Peter went to find her.”

“Go, find her,” Stiles said.

“I can’t leave you, you can’t get him back without me and I’m not letting you drive!”

“I’m… I’m fine…” Stiles coughed, dry heaving another few times.

His throat was on fire, raw and screaming with every breath he took.

“I think we need more than Deaton, I think we need to get you both to the hospital,” Isaac said.

Stiles was about to protest but he knew Isaac was right, he hadn’t been in there for long but he would probably still need someone to check him over and he knew just the person.

“Call Scott, get him to… get him to call his mom,” he said as he stared down at Derek, hoping to god that he’ll be alright.

 

Lydia had watched Isaac leave the car, locking the doors from the inside and just taking deep breaths as she cleared her head.

And it worked.

It worked too well.

She could see a clear picture now, a path for her to follow, and this time she could see the steps she was taking. She knew where she was and where she was going, she just didn’t know what she’d find.

The trees got thicker before she found it, the small twigs reaching out to scratch her skin as she passed. She couldn’t see, the canopy blocked out the light from above, so she took her phone out and turned on the flashlight.

As she shone it slowly on the forest ahead of her the light caught something unnatural and she snapped her gaze back to it only to feel her heart jump in shock and the phone slipped from her fingers.

She screamed as she stared ahead at the body tied to the tree, bullet wound to the forehead, throat slashed and dagger protruding out from her stomach.

It was Katherine.

Lydia drew in quick breaths and dropped to her knees as she fumbled for the phone on the forest floor. She held the light up again and it was clear that Katherine was dead, and from the way the blood on her neck gleamed in the light, she hadn’t been that way for long.

She felt sick, tears started to form in the corners of her eyes and she tried to steady her breathing. It became almost impossible to do when she heard footsteps approaching, and quickly.

She plastered herself to the nearest tree, pulling the flashlight from her phone in so it was pressed tightly against her stomach. She couldn’t risk anyone seeing the light, especially if it was the same person who did this.

Her hand clapped over her mouth to silence her breathing and she closed her eyes. She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder and when she opened her frightened eyes she still didn’t know if she should have been relieved when she saw Peter’s face.

He seemed genuinely concerned.

“Isaac said to stay in the car…” she said, flashing the light towards Katherine’s body. “I don’t even remember getting out…”

“We need to move,” Peter said quietly, staring up at the body and even he seemed worried.

He offered his hand and Lydia took it as he helped her up. He wrapped an arm around her to guide her through the dark. He told her to turn off the light because from the smell of Katherine, her killers could still be lurking close by.

Peter followed her scent back to her car and climbed into the passenger seat beside her.

“Get us out of the forest,” he said.

“I can’t leave without Isaac,” she said.

“He’s fine, he’s with Stiles,” Peter said, scanning the area around them.

“And Derek?” she asked and he turned to give her a sly smile.

“Now Lydia, I’m sure you can tell me better than I can tell you,” he said.

The two exchanged a glance for a moment before she nodded, “he’s alive…” she said in barely a breath.

Peter’s lips turned up in a smile. “Now, you need to get us out of these woods before we suffer the same fate as our alpha friend.”

“Then you can call Isaac,” she said, handing over her phone with a stern gaze.

He took it out of her hands and gave her a nod as she started up the engine.

 

Isaac drove the jeep out and onto the road while Stiles kept looking back to Derek in the back seat. When he turned to face the front he looked ill, like he was maybe going to vomit again.

“Are you sure Lydia’s safe with that… with that psychopath?” Stiles asked.

“I don’t think Peter will hurt her, I told him to meet us at the loft,” he said.

He had called Scott and told him what happened and that they needed to get Stiles and Derek to a doctor. Scott said that Melissa wasn’t working and that it might be better if they met up at the loft or the clinic first. So they called Deaton and he was already on his way out there.

“Are you sure you’re okay Stiles?” Isaac asked, eyeing him nervously.

“I wasn’t in there for that long, I mean it hurts but I think it’s just the heat,” he said, turning to look at Derek again.

“Is he burnt at all?” Isaac asked.

“I don’t think so, but he’s not conscious,” Stiles said. “Oh god, he’s going to be alright, right?”

“Deaton’s on his way, he’ll be able to tell us more,” Isaac said, though he wasn’t sure that he believed it.

When they pulled up in the parking lot Daisy and Boyd were waiting by the door and jogged over to the jeep as soon as it was parked. Daisy opened the passenger door and looped her arm under Stiles’, helping him out despite his protests.

“I’ve got you, let them get Derek,” she said and Stiles reluctantly let her help him into the loft with Boyd and Isaac not far behind dragging Derek.

When they made it to the main floor they put Derek on the couch and Daisy helped Stiles to the kitchen where she poured him a glass of water. He shook his head but she wouldn’t let him move anywhere until he drank it, or at least tried to.

It wasn’t long after that Lydia showed up with Peter in tow. When she saw Daisy she just walked over to her. She didn’t have to say anything, Daisy just knew.

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” she asked and Lydia nodded.

Daisy’s head dropped and she sighed a little. She knew that the message she got was a bad sign, and when Boyd told her about Derek heading into the woods alone to meet her she knew that it could only get worse.

It’s not like Katherine had treated Daisy or the twins well in their last few months, but she had been their alpha and Daisy could already feel the hole that the loss was forging in her gut.

Peter stormed over to Derek and looked him over carefully. He was covered in ash and his clothes were slightly torn but he didn’t appear to be burnt at all. He let out a sigh of relief and turned to pace around the room, not wanting any of the others to see the way his hands were shaking.

He wasn’t entirely sure whether it was out of rage or anxiety at seeing his house on fire again and the memories that it dredged up. Either way, in his mind, it was weakness.

The loft doors opened up again and Scott and Melissa came rushing through with Deaton close behind. Scott ran to Isaac who wrapped him up in his arms for a moment.

“What the hell happened?” he asked as Melissa walked over to Stiles.

She had a bag with her, probably more than just your average first aid kit. Lydia and Daisy stepped back to let her take a better look at Stiles.

“You know if you’ve got smoke inhalation I have to take you to the hospital right?” she said.

“My dad can’t know about this,” he said and Melissa sighed. “I know that’s asking a lot but he doesn’t really know about any of this yet, and I don’t want him involved in this. People are dying.”

Melissa gave him a sympathetic smile. “He’s already involved sweetie, he’s the sheriff,” she said. “Now open up.”

He did as she asked and she shone her light down his throat to get a look.

Over on the couch Deaton was doing the same thing to Derek.

“Katherine’s dead,” Isaac said and Scott’s eyes grew wide.

“What? How?”

“Pretty sure we already know the answer to that,” Boyd said.

“Well, if he had any severe damage, he’s healed himself,” Deaton said. “If I were to give you a reason for his unconsciousness, I’d say there was some kind of poison burning in the air to sedate him.”

“They managed to embed mountain ash into the wood, and then just sealed it after he crossed the threshold,” Isaac said. “Why would they need to use poison too?”

“Backup,” Peter said and they looked over to him. “They probably mixed mountain ash into some kind of paint and spread it around the house.”

“They would have sealed it as soon as he was inside, but just in case it didn’t work they poisoned him to make sure he wouldn’t escape,” Deaton said and then looked up and over at Lydia. “You said this other alpha is dead?”

Lydia nodded, “Whoever killed her was probably still out there when we were, she’d probably only been dead an hour at the most.”

“They must have found a way to use her to get to Derek,” Daisy said. “I’m sure they could have found their way into Katherine’s head if they wanted it bad enough.”

“Well they sent you a message too didn’t they?” Scott asked and Daisy nodded.

“Yes, if it is these hunters who did this then they want me too, and I’m not going to let them get away with this.”

Boyd shook his head a little, walking over to her. “Daisy you can’t possibly think it’s a good idea to go out there like they want you to.”

“What else can I do? Run away? I’m sick of running Vernon,” she said. “I want to fight this.”

“Well you can’t do it alone,” Boyd said.

“You can’t make any promises without talking to Derek first,” Isaac said. “He doesn’t know you Daisy, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want either of you dead.”

Melissa put her torch away and gave Stiles a smile. “Well, I can’t see any real damage. It’s a little red, but no signs of anything too serious. It probably burns like the worst sore throat in history though. Smoke inhalation is _not_ something you want to get, you’re lucky you weren’t in there for longer.”

“Can I go over there and see him now?” he said.

Melissa rolled her eyes. “You need to at least think about telling your dad, Stiles,” she said. “It takes some time to wrap your head around it, _believe me_ , I know, but he can handle it. Hell, it might even help him to understand some of the stuff that’s happening in this town.”

“I’ll think about it, I just don’t want him in more danger than he already is,” Stiles said. “He’s the only family I have left.”

Melissa brought a hand up to cup his cheek, “Biologically maybe,” she said. “But you’re all he’s got too, and he’s going to want to know why you keep getting into these dangerous situations.”

“I know,” Stiles said.

Over on the couch Derek stirred under Deaton’s stethoscope.

“He’s waking up,” Scott called back and Stiles was out of his seat in a second.

The others all gathered round and Deaton stepped aside as Stiles knelt in front of the couch, his hand reaching out to hold tightly onto Derek’s wrist.

“Derek? Derek? Come on, wake up…” he said.

Derek’s eyes shot open and he flinched back, eyes wide and terrified like a startled animal. And he did, he looked terrified.

Stiles tried to calm him, putting a hand to his cheek and caressing it gently.

“Derek it’s okay, it’s me, _it’s me_ …” Stiles cooed and Derek was visibly shaking as his hand wrapped tightly around Stiles’ wrist.

“I think he probably just needs some rest,” Deaton said with a sigh. “Perhaps we should go back to our homes, get a night of sleep before you make any decisions.”

As he said the last part he looked at Daisy but Boyd could already tell that she’d mostly made up her mind.

“I think I’m going to stay here with Isaac,” Scott said to his mom. “In case we need to help with Derek, or if Stiles starts to feel sick.”

“I’m fine,” Stiles muttered as he stroked his fingers through Derek’s hair soothingly, trying to stop him from having a delayed panic attack.

“You call me if you need me,” Melissa said.

“I’ll send out a text to the others,” Lydia said. “Let them know what’s going on.”

“Tell them to meet us here tomorrow, maybe in the afternoon,” Scott said, looking over at Derek as Lydia, Deaton and Melissa headed for the door.

Isaac went over to help Stiles as he lifted Derek to his feet. The two of them took him upstairs and out of sight.

Scott turned to Daisy, “Are you really going to go out there and meet them tomorrow night?”

“I’d rather not go alone, but I think it’s going to take more than just me, Ethan and Aiden to make up some kind of plan,” she said.

“Bring them tomorrow, hopefully Derek will be less traumatised by then,” Boyd said.

“Is that even possible?” Daisy asked. “I mean didn’t his whole family die in a fire?”

“Most of them,” Peter said and it took them by surprise because they had almost forgotten he was there.

“Only Peter made it out of the fire, Derek and his sister weren’t there when it happened,” Scott said.

Peter seemed far away, his mind burning with the image, with two images. One from all those years ago and the other from tonight. They were images he would never be able to forget.

He didn’t say anything more, he just headed for the door and then he was gone.

“Well, whether he has something to say or not, I have to do something,” Daisy said.

“Come on, you can stay with me tonight,” Boyd said, putting an arm around her and she gave Scott a small smile before they headed out too and it was just Scott standing on the bottom floor of the loft.

Not long after, Isaac came walking down the stairs. Scott took him in his arms and they just stood there a moment in the other’s embrace.

“How’s Derek?” Scott mumbled against Isaac’s shoulder.

“He’s not saying anything,” Isaac said, his lips pressed to Scot’s temples. “Stiles is going to get him in the shower, get rid of all the ash, and then I guess they’re just going to sleep.”

“How did it get so messed up Isaac?” he asked. “I mean we’re just teenagers. I’m barely equipped to handle my SAT’s let alone some psycho murderer.”

“Probably should have read the werewolf fine print, huh?” Isaac chuckled.

“Easy for you to say, you were given a choice. I was bitten by _Peter_ ,” Scott said.

“Come on, let’s just go upstairs. We can curl up in bed and watch a movie on Derek’s computer if that makes you feel more normal,” he offered.

“Nah, I think I just want to lie there for a while,” Scott said.

“Fine by me,” Isaac whispered, kissing his temples again.

 

Stiles was exhausted by the time he got into bed.

He had been in the shower with Derek, scrubbing away the black soot that layered his body. Derek hadn’t said a word since the incident and the expression on his face was cold and defeated.

He let Stiles clean him up, he stayed on his feet, he even walked himself to the bedroom and climbed into bed, curling up on his side silently and just lying there with his eyes open.

Stiles’ aching body climbed in beside him, sitting over his and stroking his hair until he closed his eyes.

“I’m here, Derek…” he whispered. “You’re safe, okay?”

Derek rolled over so that his face was buried in Stiles’ chest, a tear involuntarily falling from his eye.

“I’ve had dreams like that before,” he said so softly that Stiles wasn’t sure he’d said anything at all. “Nightmares…”

“It’s over Derek, you’re not there anymore,” Stiles whispered.

“I miss them…” he said and Stiles had to do everything he could to stop his own tears from falling.

“I know,” he said instead, holding Derek even tighter to him.

He couldn’t understand how anyone could do something like that, professional killer or not. Almost his entire family died in that house and to trap him in there, to try and kill him in exactly the same way… it was just cruel.

Stiles promised himself in that moment that he would do everything he could to help catch whoever was behind this, because he had never seen Derek so broken and it was a sight that he never wanted to see again.


	40. Chapter Forty

Scott woke up the next morning with Isaac’s arm draped over his side and his breath tickling his shoulder as he slept. He blinked a few times, lifting his hand to rub away the sleep from the corners of his eyes.

He sighed to himself as he remembered the night before. He knew things were going to have to get worse before they get better, he just hoped no one else had to die. That meant they had to do something about this. No more playing defence, it was time for a proactive plan.

He felt Isaac stir behind him, pressing his body in closer and holding him tighter. He lifted his chin sleepily to kiss Scott’s neck and nibble at his ear lobe.

“Morning,” he mumbled, his hand sliding down Scott’s side.

“You can’t seriously want to after last night can you?” Scott said, doing nothing to stop him.

“Especially after last night,” he said. “Every moment could be your last and all.”

Scott’s eyes rolled back as Isaac sank his teeth into his neck, sucking in a fading purple mark. “Isaac…” he said in protest but just let out a breathy moan when he pulled his hips back into him.

“I can stop…” he breathed in his ear, slipping one hand under the band of Scott’s boxers and running his fingers over his hot length. “Just tell me to stop…”

Scott ground his ass back into Isaac who just let out a deep rumble by his ear. “Yeah…” Scott said.

“So… was that a stop?” Isaac asked as he thrust his hips faster.

Scott just pumped his hips up into Isaac’s fist without saying anything and after a few more moments Isaac was pulling away and laying Scott flat on his back so he could crawl over him and kiss him. Scott spread his legs apart to let him through and there was far more dry-humping and groaning into each other’s shoulder than there was kissing.

Isaac’s eyes were still closed and his fingers tangled in Scott’s hair. He gave it a tug and Scott just moaned as Isaac nipped at his neck before his lips found his mouth. Scott shoved him back and reached over to the bed-side table without much luck so Isaac moved them both closer.

He found what he was looking for and Isaac grinned dopily. “Someone’s eager,” he said.

“Every moment could be your last I think you said,” Scott chuckled as he tore a single packet off the strip and handed it to Isaac.

“You’re taking that far too literally,” he smiled as he took the bottle out of the draw and the two of them were both wriggling out of their boxers.

Isaac slicked up his fingers and pressed one softly against Scott’s entrance. Scott closed his eyes again and his mouth dropped open in a not-so-silent ‘oh’ as Isaac slowly pushed inside. He curled his finger a little before pulling out and adding a second finger.

“ _Oh_ … come on, just come on…” Scott panted as Isaac scissored his fingers a little more.

He leant down to kiss him as he added a third finger and Scott groaned into his mouth, pushing back on his hand and kissing him more fervently. Isaac felt Scott’s nails digging into his hip and made sure he was ready before he took his fingers out to roll the condom on and slick himself up.

Scott was grabbing him, pulling him closer because he couldn’t get inside him fast enough, and when he finally did he let out a loud and elated moan. Isaac bit down on his lip as he pushed himself in further, moving slowly until his hips were flush against him.

“ _Uh_ , come on Isaac… _move_ …” Scott panted and Isaac gave him a smirk as he gave a few slow thrusts before he was pounding into him relentlessly.

Scott wrapped his legs around his waist and took a handful of his curly hair as he let out breathy groans. Isaac tried to angle his hips up to hit that perfect spot and after a few strokes he found it and Scott began to unravel.

Isaac reached his hand between them to jerk at Scott’s leaking cock, bringing him to the edge and holding him there a little longer while he felt the tightness growing in his stomach.

“ _Fuck_ … _Isaac_ …” Scott panted before he was coming completely undone.

The feel of him tightening around Isaac as he gave him four, five more hard thrusts was enough to send him freefalling into ecstasy moments after. His hips stilled as he came and gave only a few erratic jerks as he rode out his orgasm.

He rolled onto his back and they both panted as they came down slowly from their highs.

“ _Shit_ … I think I needed that…” Scott said with a short laugh..

“Think? I _definitely_ needed that,” Isaac said.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t change the fact that everything is turning to shit around us,” Scott sighed.

“Yeah, I know,” Isaac said.

He turned his head to look at Scott, just to look at him, to take in his features and the sweetly contented smile on his face.

“You know I love you right?” he said softly.

“Of course I know that, I love you too.”

“No matter what happens, you should know that,” Isaac said and Scott rolled onto his side.

“Hey, we’re going to be fine, okay? Everything is going to be fine,” he said, reaching out to tangle their fingers together.

“Well even if it’s not…” Isaac said. “I love you, and that’s not going to change.”

“I know,” he said softly and Isaac leant in for a gentle kiss. “So…” he said with a smile. “I’m thinking breakfast, well, shower then breakfast.”

Isaac grinned, “and then on to brain-storming ways to combat some out of control supernatural hunters.”

“This was a great morning until you mentioned that,” Scott said with a raised eyebrow.

“Come on then,” he said as they got out of bed and headed to the shower.

 

Stiles’ morning did not start out quite as well.

When he woke up the bed was empty and there was no sign of Derek. He wondered how he had managed to slip out without him noticing.

He stretched out and woke himself up a little more before heading downstairs to find Derek standing at the bench and looking over a map and some other loose pieces of paper.

“Hey,” he said softly as he walked over. “Didn’t think you’d be up before me.”

“I’m always up before you,” he replied without turning around.

“Well you usually stay in bed then,” he said, his brow furrowing a little.

“Not today,” he said and Stiles sighed a little.

“Derek you don’t have to pretend that―”

“That what?” he said, turning around. “That last night didn’t happen?”

Stiles was a little taken aback and he narrowed his eyes, “Uh, kind of, yeah.”

“I’m not pretending Stiles, I’m trying to focus.”

He turned back to the map and Stiles walked over to him.

“Yeah, and that’s great, I just don’t want you to think that you have to act like it didn’t―” he put his hand on Derek’s shoulder but he pulled away and walked around the bench to the fridge.

Stiles bit down hard on his lip and supressed a sigh as he looked down at the table-top. He knew Derek would be like this, that he would close himself off and lock down his walls. It was his defence mechanism.

He knew he could rely on Stiles. He knew he could talk to him, use him for comfort, show him his emotions, but still he didn’t. Stiles knew that this was Derek’s way of trying to stop himself from being hurt, and maybe even to stop Stiles from _getting_ hurt. Either way it was a little bit of a punch in the guts.

“You don’t have to give me the cold shoulder you know,” he said.

“I’m not giving you the cold shoulder Stiles,” Derek said with a sigh.

“Yes! You are, that’s exactly what you’re doing, okay? I get that everyone deals with their own _shit_ in their own _ways_ but what good does it do to act like everything is fine?”

“Do you really think I’m acting like everything is ‘fine’?” Derek said. “ _I_ almost died, _you_ almost died _because_ of me, any one of my pack could be next. That’s not ‘ _fine_ ’ Stiles.”

“Did I say things were fine? I said that’s how you were acting. _Shit_ Derek I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking because if it was me who was trapped in that house I can tell you that I wouldn’t have been the first one out of bed this morning!”

“Well I’m not you Stiles,” he said. “What good would it do us if I was lying around in bed all day? Maybe we used to have that luxury but for now we don’t.”

“I’m not an idiot Derek, I know this is just as much about you feeling responsible for someone else’s death as it is you not wanting to relive what you felt after the first fire.”

“Damn it Stiles!” Derek growled, slamming his fist down into the bench loudly.

Scott and Isaac were walking down the stairs at that moment and both of them could feel the tension in the room.

“Is this a bad time?” Isaac asked as they reached the landing.

Derek and Stiles walked away from one another and Stiles just folded his arms as he shook his head. “No, no, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Scott asked, giving Derek a wary look.

Derek went back to pouring over his map and Isaac raised an eyebrow at Stiles, tilting his head towards Derek.

Stiles just shook his head and sat on the arm of the couch, rubbing his face with his hands. He was sure Scott looked like he was about to say something to Derek but Isaac was the one to try to ease the mood.

“What are you looking at?” Isaac asked, walking over to stand beside him.

“I’ve marked the locations where all the bodies were left,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be any discernible pattern.”

“Is it possible we’re just missing something?” Isaac said.

“Maybe, but we don’t really have the time to find one,” Derek sighed in frustration.

“So are you okay after last night? I mean…” he cut off when he saw the glare that Derek gave him. “Okay, got it.”

Derek turned away and walked briskly towards the door, grabbing his keys as he went.

“Where are you going?” Stiles asked.

“Talk to Boyd and Daisy,” he said gruffly.

“Did you want me to come with you?” Isaac offered.

“No, I’ll let you know what’s happening when I know myself,” he said and with that he was off and on his way.

Stiles just shook his head again and fell back onto the couch with a loud groan.

“What’s his problem?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, I thought he’d be a little more…”

“Traumatised?” Stiles filled in the gap. “Believe me, that was probably the second most traumatic thing to happen to him _ever_ , and last night he was just… a freaking wreck. Today, he’s trying to pretend that it’s not hurting, even though it is, and so he’s reverted to being a _dick_ to cover it up.”

“You’d think he’d realise that we’d be totally okay if he was still upset about it,” Scott said.

“I get where he’s coming from,” Isaac said and they both turned to give him a look.

“Oh ‘you get where he’s coming from’ do you?” Stiles asked.

Isaac nodded a little. “Well, yeah. I mean, if you were the alpha of a pack and you’d just been the target of a kill-plot then you’d probably want to act like you weren’t hurt too. I mean, if you show weakness then you look vulnerable, people don’t have as much faith in you. He just wants to prove that he’s not beaten by it.”

Stiles sighed, “Yeah well I understand that but he doesn’t have to pretend with _me_ , I’m not his pack. Not really anyway. And you guys didn’t really see him last night either, not after…” he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Everyone copes differently I guess.”

“Still, you’re right, he doesn’t have to be a dick,” Scott said.

 

Derek knew that he had been unreasonable. Of course he had been.

All he wanted to do was to curl up in Stiles’ arms and stop the world from moving, to stop thinking and just forget about what happened, but he was the alpha and all the killing needed to stop. He had to compartmentalise his emotions and focus on doing the right thing for his pack.

Still, he had been harsh and he begrudgingly took out his phone to send Stiles a few words.

 

 **To Stiles:** Got off to a bad start this morning, talk about it later?

 

Only a few moments later he got a response.

 

**_From Stiles:_ ** _That’s putting it lightly… and you know you don’t want to talk about it_

**To Stiles:** No but you seem to

**_From Stiles:_ ** _I just want to know that you’re okay_

**To Stiles:** I will be when this is over

**_From Stiles:_ ** _This killing spree or this conversation?_

**To Stiles:** Both.

**_From Stiles:_ ** _Sour-wolf._

Derek didn’t send another reply, instead he made his way to Boyd’s house and saw him standing by his front porch with Daisy and Erica beside him. He got out of the Camaro and walked over to them, all of them watching him carefully.

“Don’t,” Derek said before any of them had the chance to speak.

“Don’t what?” Erica asked with a shrug.

“You know what,” he said. “What’s going on.”

“Daisy?” Boyd said, looking over at her and waiting for her to explain the whole thing.

“Whoever sent those messages from Katherine’s phone clearly wanted to target us,” she said. “Last night made that pretty clear.”

They all exchanged a quick nervous glance that made Derek’s jaw tighten before she continued.

“If I’m going to get picked off I’d rather know what I’m walking into, rather than just waiting for lightning to strike me down. I want to go to the rendezvous, maybe make a plan, and I want your help. Even if you don’t give me that… I’m still going to do what they asked.”

“What? You never said―” Boyd started.

“That’s because I know you could probably convince me otherwise,” she said. “At least this way we know where they’re going to be. I’m the bait and if you agree to help me, then I have to rely on the rest of you to get me out of the water before they take me.”

Derek thought for a moment but he knew she was right. They knew at least this time where they would be and that they might have a chance at catching them red handed. The only problem was that they didn’t have a clue who they were dealing with and as of yet they had no plan.

“How do you expect us to get you out of that?” he asked. “If something goes wrong―”

“I know what I’m risking,” Daisy said, glancing over at Boyd before turning her eyes back to Derek. “Katherine wasn’t the greatest alpha, she wasn’t the greatest person, but there is still a gaping hole inside me where I used to feel something and now… nothing. I don’t even remember what it felt like but now it’s gone, and the pain of that… I know I’m being reckless but all I that I feel when I think about doing this is that I have nothing to lose.”

Derek saw Boyd’s face drop a little, but he could never understand what she meant until he lost a member of his own pack or if, like Daisy, he lost his alpha. Pack bonds are so strong that when they’re broken by a force such as death they’re felt in such a profound way.

“What about the other two?” Derek asked.

“Ethan and Aiden?” she said and Derek nodded. “I think they feel the same, but they didn’t get the message. I did. I don’t think they should be there when I go.”

“Well you’re not going alone,” Boyd said firmly. “I’ll come with you.”

“Vernon―” Daisy started.

“Me too,” Erica said, looking at Derek as if to ask his permission.

Derek sighed, frustrated and tired. “The three of you can meet me at the loft in an hour. I’m not saying this is a good idea, but right now it’s the only one we’ve got.

 

 

It was little over an hour when they all made their way to the loft. Derek had called them all there like he usually did, only this time they were joined by three extras, Daisy, Ethan, and Aiden.

Jackson was probably the one who had his bristles up for the longest; he and Ethan never quite made it to civil speaking terms. There was an icy air between Erica and Aiden, the heat that had once brought them together now seemed all but a distant memory.

The only ones who seemed to keep the two groups amicable was Boyd and Daisy who stood between the two packs with their hands woven together.

The idea had been thrown about that they should have included Peter in their meeting, but it hadn’t been up in the air for long. Even the three outsiders knew that he was a shady character.

The message sent to Daisy had been clear. She was to meet ‘Katherine’ at the lacrosse pitch that night, and alone. No one thought that they should stick to the initial terms and instead they replied to the number with another message.

 

**_I don’t know who you are, and I won't be alone. This ends tonight._ **

 

Whether it was a good idea or not, it was better that they at least tried to seem like they had the upper hand.

Once that had been done Derek spoke up, and what he had to say took them all by surprise.

“They tried to target me last night and failed but they managed to take down another alpha. I don’t know how they lured her in but it worked and if it weren’t for Lydia it might have worked on me too,” he said.

Lydia seemed a little uncomfortable at the attention she was being given, something that she never seemed to shy away from.

“What I’m suggesting is that instead of me being out there as a bigger target, I stay here with Lydia and we try to use whatever talent it is that she has, just from a distance. That keeps me out of the picture, throws them off because they’ll be expecting me to lead you down there.”

“Well if you’re not coming with us then who is going to call the shots out there?” Jackson asked with an eyebrow raised.

Derek looked at him for a moment before turning his gaze to the one person he knew would be best to take his place. “Scott.”

They all turned to look at him with his eyes wide in shock. “Me? What? Why me?”

“Yeah, why him?” Jackson asked and Derek grunted harshly.

“Because your temper would get the better of you, and Scott’s a good leader.”

Jackson was about to make a quip about how he had been team captain long before Scott came along but held his tongue as Allison elbowed him in the ribs.

“But I have no idea what to do!” Scott said.

“And I don’t have the slightest idea of how to use this… _thing_ that I have!” Lydia said.

“I do,” Derek said.

“That doesn’t help with the fact that we’re sending _those_ _three_ out into woods to what’s probably certain death,” Ethan said sceptically and Daisy shot him a glare.

“What’s the point of sending them into an ambush?” Aiden said.

“No one said you had to be a part of this,” Daisy said. “You’re free to leave, we don’t have those ties anymore.”

“You’re still our pack,” Ethan said. “We’re not leaving you with _them_.”

Isaac snarled a little and Ethan just narrowed his eyes at him.

“Allison, you said your father has all the information we asked for?” Derek said.

She nodded, “More than we asked for.”

“I want you and Stiles to start going through it. Call if anything seems relevant.”

“I see you’re side-lining the humans again,” Stiles grumbled.

“Come on, you’re the best at research and finding links between stuff out of all of us,” Scott said and Stiles sighed because he knew it was true.

“And what about the rest of us?” Isaac asked. “How the hell are we supposed to corner a couple of hunters?”

“I guess that’s what we have to figure out,” Derek said and they all knew that it was going to be a long night.

 

 

Cal walked into the small dining room, tossing the hooded jacket down onto the table in front of where Cassie sat. She was wiping down a shiny blade and her eyes darted to the coat.

“You know what the plan is?” Cal asked.

She looked up at him, “Yes, we’ve been over it about ten times since they sent the message. Did you put out the markers?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, “Of course I did. Are you going to _follow_ the plan this time?”

“Of course I am,” she snapped. “Are we going after Derek?”

“He got away last night, I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to be a part of their actions tonight. Besides, I already told you that it’s not the alpha we want tonight. You saw what happened to the betas when we killed the she-beast. We’ll be lucky if we even see those other two.”

“Well at least now we know Stiles is human,” Cassie said and Cal’s nostrils flared.

“Can you hear what you’re doing?” he said.

“What?”

“Using their names… you’re _humanising_ them,” he said.

“Stiles _is_ human, you said so yourself. You said that he was the one who went in and got Der― _the alpha_ out. You said it was just him and the rogue, and obviously the alpha made it out alive,” she said.

“You think anyone who gets amorous with one of those monsters is really human? It’s _disgusting_ ,” he said, planting his hands firmly on the table and glaring down at her. “As far as we’re concerned he’s just like them.”

“We’re not trying to kill humans,” she said, swallowing slowly and trying keep her eye contact strong but he just smirked.

“Any human who aligns with werewolves and gets in our way is collateral damage,” he said. “You can’t keep protecting your little friend, he’s not as innocent as you seem to think.”

“Isaac’s not a monster,” she said and his hand reached out to grab her arm.

“You need to start acting like you want to do this job, or maybe you’re too weak to realise what that means.”

“I am not _weak_ ,” she spat, wincing as she looked down to her fingers where she had sliced them on the freshly sharpened blade. “I’m doing this for the same reason that you are.”

“Then are you willing to do whatever it takes or are you going to sit here defending those _creatures_?”

“I know what they are, they’re killers, and they’re unnatural…” she said, her voice shaking a little and the rage that he knew was bubbling just under the surface began to spark in her eyes.

He grinned, letting his grip loosen a little. “Good, remember that,” he said, hiding from her the things he knew would be better left for her to find out herself.

 

 

The only way that Stiles was going to make it through the night without calling anyone to find out what was happening was by diving into research. He had made his way over to Allison’s place where she had a few boxes of information and about twenty e-mails with even more links to news articles and other sources. They split it all up half-way and got stuck straight into it.

Of course Stiles was restless, tapping his fingers against the table as he skimmed through the information. Allison looked up at him, trying to hide her smile while her dimpled cheeks gave her away.

He looked up at her and sighed, rolling his eyes a little. “Yeah I know, I can’t help it,” he said.

“They’re going to be fine,” she said.

He nodded, “Yeah, famous last words.”

“Since when are you such a pessimist?” she asked.

He shrugged, “Since always, I just mask it with sarcasm and meticulous wit.”

“Right, well how about you tell me what you’re looking at right now? Minus the sarcasm?” she said, raising an eyebrow and he chuckled.

“Yeah, well, uh, this one is a group from… Florida… uh, family affair, they’ve been going for centuries… used a lot of the Yellow Monkshood… but for the last three generations they’ve been on the east coast so… looking a little unlikely,” he said.

“Moving on?”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “What you got?”

“Uh… a clan called the Calaveras. They’re from Mexico but occasionally cross over into California,” she said, clicking on another link. “I don’t even know where my dad copied all these documents from,” she said. “Seriously, there is so much I didn’t even know. I think these guys only really cross the border looking for targets they already had in their sights.”

“So… next?” he said and she just nodded.

They took their time looking over more of the documents, putting aside anything that might be connected but it was hard to focus when they knew what was supposed to be happening with the rest of the pack.

Around eight Chris came back with some dinner, Chinese take-out with enough for Stiles and they took a break. Allison started talking to him about how he got all the information and whether or not hunters ever collaborated.

“It depends what we’re looking for,” he said as Stiles took a big mouthful of lemon chicken. “Sometimes, when the target moves into another group’s domain we team up because it’s always best to have the home ground advantage.”

“You know it’s kind of creepy when you talk about it because when you say ‘target’, it sort of means ‘the guy who’s going to end up cut in half’,” Stiles mumbled.

“Or girl,” Allison said.

“That almost seems worse,” Stiles said.

Chris gave the two of them a look, “I was never a big fan of that, safe to say I never really did my father proud.”

“In this context that’s probably the best news I’ve ever heard, you know, considering ninety percent of the people I care about are somewhat werewolf-ish,” Stiles said.

“Well regardless of that, we only ever join forces if we’re dealing with something too big to handle or if we make agreements with another group. We’re all essentially on the same side, only some of us are more inclined to use older, more barbaric methods.”

“So what you’re saying is that on a psychological and anthropological level, hunters and werewolves actually aren’t all that different?” Stiles asked and both Allison and Chris just gave him blank stares, if anything Chris looked inches away from telling him to shut up. “What?”

“I still think we’re looking for more than just a group of hunters,” Allison said. “I mean these people aren’t just leaving werewolves in the woods to make it look like animal attacks, they’re almost… ritualistic.”

“Like I said, different clans use different methods and there are too many for me to remember all of them off the top of my head,” Chris said.

“Well can you give us a hand?” Allison asked, “Maybe it’ll jog your memory.”

“When did I agree to getting involved in this?” he asked with an amused smile at Allison as she rolled her eyes. “I still don’t think I’m okay with _you_ being involved in this.”

“Really dad?” she said, giving him a stare. “You know I’ll do this with or without your help, and with will be a lot easier.”

“I feel like I’m intruding on a long-running family argument here, so I might just take my chicken and get back to looking through the files on how many groups of people might be out there trying to kill us,” Stiles said as he got up and headed back to work.

Chris looked back at Allison and gave her a ‘really?’ look and she sighed.

“He’s actually more optimistic than he sounds,” she said.”

“Nope! No, no he’s actually not!” came Stiles’ voice from down the hall and Allison shook her head with a smile.

The two of them finished up their dinner and Chris came in to join them, looking at the stack of papers they’d already sifted through as they started on more. Allison was skimming through some information Chris had about the heritage of a family based in Vancouver but she knew it was probably too far out to be useful.

That was when Stiles landed on something potentially important, slowing himself down to read through the words more carefully.

“Hey, what about this?” he said. “You’ve got a bio here about a line called Stancliff? It says that they were really firm believers in keeping to the old faith. Old faith? What is that, some kind of werewolf hunting religion?”

“When we talk about the old faith we mean the old texts passed down from our ancestors. A lot of them talk about sacrificing the supernatural beings in the world to keep the balance between what’s natural and what’s not. All creatures have their own mythology, even humans, even hunters,” Chris said.

“It says they targeted more than just werewolves,” Stiles said.

“We hunt those who hunt us,” Allison said. “I guess they interpreted that to mean all manner of supernatural. Just… how many kinds of supernatural creature _are_ there?” she asked.

Chris just gave her a look, “Probably more than either of us will ever know about.”

“That’s mildly unsettling,” Stiles said, reading further down the page. “It says that the leader of the modern group is a guy called Richard Stancliff. He’s a senior lecturer in anthropology and mythology, well that fits. He did a thesis paper on methods of ritual sacrifice as a primary means of persecution for perceived mythological and unnatural beings, this is it, this has to be him.”

“Could he be here? Do you know anything about this guy?” Allison asked and Chris shook his head.

“What else does it say about him?” he said.

“Uh… he came under scrutiny for his teaching materials and going too far outside the curriculum after – _yikes_ – after a student was found strung up in an old oak tree out the front of campus by means of the threefold death,” Stiles said. “I don’t know what that is but it sounds like something I don’t want to experience. He was a police suspect, or at least he was until – oh…” he said, his voice trailing off.

“Until what Stiles?” Allison asked.

“Until he was found dead in his office by one of his students,” Chris filled in. “I remember this one. The police described the scene as a vicious attack but no one was ever charged for it.”

“If it was so vicious why didn’t they do anything?” Allison asked.

“Because he was so torn up that the only possible conclusion was that he had been attacked by some kind of wild animal that had found its way into the building,” Chris said.

“What, onto a university campus?” Stiles asked.

“It helped that there had been a few other cases in the area around the time,” Chris said, and they all knew what that meant.

“So werewolves do a little killing, Stancliff kills a werewolf, and then the werewolves retaliate and kill _him_?” Stiles asked.

“Can’t be sure, but it looks that way.”

“Well could his children have continued his legacy?” Allison asked.

“He never married, or had children, and the rest of his family was slaughtered by wolves in… Salt Lake City I think. He was the last of his line,” Chris said.

“So the most likely candidate we’ve seen all night is dead with no living relatives,” Allison said. “If only his line of work _wasn’t_ a family affair.”

“They aren’t the only family who works with the old rules,” Chris said. “If it’s any of the groups in there, you’ll find them,” he said as he pointed to the box.

“Yeah, sure,” Allison said, resting her chin on her hand as she went back to looking through the e-mails.

Stiles couldn’t help but get stuck on Stancliff, he read a little more about him and was surprised to learn that the college where he taught was the University of Denver. He thought about the student being strung up in the oak tree and realised that he knew where that tree was.

When they’d visited only a few weeks ago he’d seen the natural giant and made a mental note of it purely because of its size. But now that he thought about it he remembered that one side had branches that were cut back and new shoots were starting to grow. At the time he thought it was a little odd to cut back only one portion of a tree but now it seemed clear that it probably would have been covered in blood.

That wasn’t something students needed to be reminded of.

He sighed, putting the file aside but not completely out of the way as he started sifting through more. He knew his mind would keep coming back to that file, but he needed to focus on something else.

If only he hadn’t been so quick to dismiss his instincts in his haste to find a more plausible option.

 

 

The plan was relatively simple.

Daisy, Erica and Boyd were making their way to the lacrosse field only they weren’t ever planning on setting foot under the light towers. The others, Jackson, Scott, Isaac, Ethan and Aiden had their eyes on the field, forming a semi-circle around one half, always within view of one another.

The way they figured, there were only two hunters, and now that they’ve teamed up there were eight wolves. Four to one seemed like pretty good odds.

Derek and Lydia were at the loft, trying to find a way to use Lydia’s powers of premonition. Derek had an idea of something that might work, but he knew that his uncle would be a big help and reluctantly invited him.

Though he has a habit of showing up whether you invite him or not.

Derek had cleared the tabletop and placed eleven items on its surface. Lydia stood above them and looked down.

“What am I looking at?” she asked at the sight of the seemingly random pieces.

“They’re tokens,” Derek said.

“Of?” she said, looking up with wide eyes.

“All of us, except you.”

“Emotional tethering,” she said, looking down at the items.

“Exactly,” he said.

She stared down at the objects, some of their owners obvious, the others not so much. She ran her fingers over a circular talisman, a triskellion embossed on its face.

“This is yours,” she said. “You have this symbol on your back.”

“Yes,” he said, trying to move past the subject of himself. “Try to figure out the rest.”

“I know _some_ are more obvious than others, but we won't be giving you any hints,” Peter said, piping up from the other side of the kitchen.

Lydia gave him a wry smile, “I’m sure I can manage.”

Next to the triskellion there was an old silver arrowhead and she ran her fingers over the blunt edge. “Allison,” she said.

Her eyes moved to the next item and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. It was a key.

“I’d know that anywhere,” she said, looking over at Peter a little cockily. “It’s the key to Jackson’s first car.”

She went through most of the items with ease.

A plastic sheriff’s badge, “Stiles.”

A golden locket with the word ‘strength’ emblazoned on it, “Erica.”

An old medal of valour, “Boyd.”

A tatty old lacrosse ball, “Scott.”

The last four made her think a little more, made her pause as she looked them over. There was a small compact mirror that she had initially thought to belong to Daisy but the feel of it in her hand said otherwise.

“Isaac,” she said quietly and Derek gave her a nod.

There was also a very dishevelled copy of 1984 which she ran her fingers over gently. She opened it to the title page and read the small scribbled quote in the centre of the blank space.

“So long as human beings stay human, death and life are the same thing… Daisy,” she said quietly and almost with an air of confusion.

The last two items were a set of signet rings, both very similar only one was engraved and the other had a flat back stone on one side. Obviously they belonged to Ethan and Aiden but the real test was which belonged to each.

Both Peter and Derek watched her closely as she picked up one and then the other with a furrow in her brow. They were a similar weight, obviously the same material, but there was no way of telling who they belonged to just form looking at them, especially since Lydia knew barely anything about either twin.

She held the one with the black stone in her hand and stared at it, frustration building as she thought hard about which one wore that particular ring. She closed her eyes, knowing that her eyes weren’t going to help her to figure out who this belonged to. She let out a deep breath and just focussed on the feel of it.

It wasn’t just how it felt though; it was the sound it made. Her eyes flashed open and Derek thought she was about to scream but she just looked up at him.

“This one’s Aiden’s…” she said and Derek nodded.

“Very interesting,” Peter said, his eyes closely watching her, studying her.

“What am I supposed to do with all of these?” she asked, looking over at Derek.

“Anything you want,” he said.

“That’s not very helpful,” she said, brushing a strand of hair away from her shiny lips.

“Well neither are you, you seem to have no idea of how do use this ability you have,” Peter said.

“How am I supposed to know how to use it when I don’t even know what it is!” she said with a huff.

“Lydia,” Derek said calmly. “No one’s asking you to do anything you can't do but we know you can do something. Just take some time.”

He turned away, giving Peter a look until he reluctantly did the same. She looked down at all the items again, wondering if something was really supposed to jump out at her like they seemed to think it would.

She knew they were just a miss-match of objects but there was something about them that was different, and she was going to figure it out by herself.

 

 

Erica walked with Daisy and Boyd over the dry leaves on the forest floor on their way to the lacrosse field. They all knew the risk they were taking but they also knew they had the rest of the group to back them up.

The twins hadn’t been too happy about giving up their signet rings for Lydia to use but Daisy had convinced them that they were only trying to help. They hadn’t been too happy about collaborating in general.

“Ten bucks says they tear each other apart before the night is done,” Erica said as she ducked under some low hanging branches.

“You’re not helpful,” Boyd said with a raised eyebrow.

“Just trying to lighten the mood,” she said.

“And that’s the best way to do it?” he asked.

Daisy shrugged a little, “She’s probably not wrong,” she said.

“See,” she said with a small flick of her eyebrows.

They walked closer to the field, their eyes ever focussed on their surroundings. At first they barely noticed it, but after a few more moments of walking it became louder and clearer.

“Do you hear that,” Daisy whispered, stilling in her tracks.

“If you mean that metallic buzzing then yeah,” Erica said.

“Well what is it?” Boyd asked.

Daisy put up her hand and backed into him, turning on her side and looking out into the distance with her eyes glowing as she tried to see through the thinning light. Erica got the idea and did the same, the three of them forming a triangle as they stood backs to centre.

“I don’t see anything,” she said.

“Me either,” Boyd said, straining to see all he could.

“Wait,” Daisy said as she walked away from the two of them.

She saw something in the distance and when her eyes picked it up she lifted her nose to the air and realised that she could smell something familiar.

“Do you smell that?” she asked, taking slow steps in the opposite direction of the field.

Boyd and Erica began to follow her slowly, trying to take in the scent. There was no denying what it was, the smell that lingered in the air was blood. Daisy walked a little faster towards the smell, realising that what she could smell was Katherine’s blood.

“It’s Katherine’s,” she said as she picked up the pace a little more.

“Daisy…” Boyd said cautiously but she was already moving toward a patch of earth that seemed to be soaked in it.

Erica heard movement in the forest around them and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was sure it was more than just the sounds of nature.

Daisy walked over to investigate the bloodstained ground but paused suddenly when the dirt beneath her feet seemed unsteady and she heard a click.

“Stop!” she said.

Erica turned back to look at her and Boyd was motionless, “What? What’s wrong?” he asked and Daisy looked down very slowly.

“I’m standing on some kind of trap,” she said slowly.

The other two looked down to see one of Daisy’s feet standing on shaky ground and the other at the edge. Erica heard the noise in the forest again and her head turned sharply.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I don’t think we’re alone either,” she said quietly.

As if on cue, a loud pop rang through the air and Daisy felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. As she flinched the ground under her feet gave way and Boyd was desperately clutching for her but he wasn’t quite fast enough. She fell down into a shallow pit, a dagger that had been wedged into the dirt was now sticking up through her thigh and there was another by her side, scraping her skin and tearing her shirt.

She yelled out in pain, not knowing whether to clutch at her shoulder or her leg. Boyd yelled out her name and was quickly jumping down into the pit to help her.

“Just pull me up, I’ll heal,” she said of the knife through her leg as she looked at the tiny bullet wound in her shoulder. “They’re shooting with a ball-bearing gun, we have to move!”

As Boyd pulled her off the spike they heard another pop and Erica cried out as she was hit with the tiny pellet, her upper arm the target.

“Come on, we have to go!” she yelled, reaching down to offer Daisy her hand.

She felt another stab of pain in her back this time as they pulled Daisy out and started to run. They had to hold her up as they started moving, her leg too injured to run herself but it didn’t take long to heal.

Another shot sounded, splintering the bark off one of the trees around them. They kept running, this time with Daisy out in front as she scanned the tree line, seeing a figure moving far out to the right.

“There!” she said, pointing towards the hooded figure and Boyd snarled, turning his body to charge in that direction when he heard a metallic scraping sound and felt a searing pain biting into his ankle as he toppled over and skidded across the floor.

He howled in pain and the two girls stopped. Erica growled and dropped to her knees next to him where his leg was caught in a bear trap.

“Vernon!” Daisy said, staring down at his leg and then back towards the hooded figure who was getting further from them.

“Go! You can catch him!” Boyd said through gritted teeth.

She seemed unsure but Erica nodded, “We’ll catch up to you, I can get him out, just go!”

Daisy gave them one last look before she was running off and towards the hunter, hoping they were out of bullets.

The pain in Boyd’s leg was excruciating and Erica was trying to find a release button or an instruction on how to get someone out of it but there was too much blood now covering the label and they didn’t have time to spare.

“I’m going to put my hands on this side and pull it apart,” she said, knowing it was going to hurt.

The teeth were sharp, probably newly sharpened and when she tightened her grip she felt it slice her skin and as she tried to pull it apart it was almost doing more damage to her than she was to it.

She relaxed her grip for a moment and looked up at him with her hair falling across her face. “You’re going to have to help me out here,” she said and Boyd nodded, putting his own hands on the trap.

“On three,” she said. “One, two, three…”

They both started pulling, their hands cut up and bleeding but it was slowly prying open and Boyd was able to pull his foot through. As they let go and pulled their hands back it snapped shut and they gave one another a look as they held their bleeding hands close to their chests.

They both knew it could have been a lot worse.

They had barely a moment to heal before they heard a loud scream, more of a yell, and another two pops.

“Daisy,” Boyd growled and they got up to run for her before it was too late.

 

 

Lydia had spent nearly an hour looking down at the pieces in her own private game.

Peter was clearly a little frustrated but Derek was patient, waiting for her to figure something out for herself.

She kept coming back to Daisy’s piece, for one reason or another, but she didn’t know what to do with it. She would pick it up and hold it for a moment, before putting it back in its place.

Another piece that drew her attention was Scott’s. There was something about it, and again she didn’t know what, but the whole thing was really starting to get to her.

“You can probably stop waiting for me to give you the answer you’re looking for,” she said.

“We aren’t looking for any answer in particular,” Derek said.

“Well it doesn’t matter because I don’t seem to have any clue what to do here!” she said.

“Maybe you need to try harder,” Peter said and she glared over at him.

“Try harder to _what_?” she asked.

“Well that’s your area, not mine,” he said.

“You all keep telling me that I have some kind of ability and Stiles is convinced that I’m _something_ but no one seems to know what!”

“We’ll figure it out,” Derek said. “You just have to give it time.”

“Time never seems to be something we have,” she said.

She sighed and stared down at the pieces again, only this time it was like something had changed. The pieces seemed different, and she could hear very quiet sounds coming from a number of them.

Peter began to say something but she shushed him, putting her hand up and staring down at one piece in particular. She reached out for the lacrosse ball and picked it up, holding it close to her face as she tried to listen.

The sounds were like voices, whispering so quietly that Lydia could hardly hear them. She could feel her frustration growing but then she heard an echo in her mind in Stiles’ voice.

_Do it, Scream._

So she did. She let out an almighty wail that had both Derek and Peter clutching at their ears. It reverberated through the loft and resonated quietly when the sound stopped coming from her lips.

And then she could hear them. She could hear all of them.

She took the ball and put it away from the rest of the group, lifting up Daisy’s book again and putting it slightly above the rest on the opposite side to Scott’s lacrosse ball. The next item she picked up was the mirror, opening it up and looking at her reflection before closing it and putting it beside the ball.

“Isaac and Scott?” Derek said as he and Peter exchanged a glance.

But Lydia wasn’t done, she was listening to the voices again  but this time she reached for the key, holding it between her fingers before putting it beside the other two items.

“Jackson,” Peter said.

The last one she took a moment to think about, she didn’t pick any of the items up but just listened. When she finally picked one up and moved it, she put it beside the other three that she had singled out and Derek’s jaw went tight.

“ _Stiles_ ,” he said.

She stepped back from the table and looked over at the two of them.

Derek was staring down at her placement of items with a furrowed brow while Peter eyed the placement of Daisy’s token.

“You didn’t put this one back in line with the others,” he said curiously.

“I don’t know if it fit back with the others,” she said.

“What’s special about these four?” Derek asked, “Why did you put them aside?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I just had to take them out of the line. They’re not…” she said, pausing to give Derek a look.

“They’re not what?” he asked.

He could see the worry in her eyes and the bad feeling in his stomach only grew.

“They’re not clear,” she said and he knew what that meant.

“They’re not safe,” he sighed and she nodded, stepping away from the table and shaking her head.

She hoped she was wrong, but up until now all her feelings had been right on the money.

 

 

Scott stood in the centre of their formation. To his left was Isaac, and to the right, Aiden. They could see the pitch up ahead and remained in silence to listen for any unfamiliar sounds.

They were spread apart a decent distance from one another, with Jackson on the opposite end to the twins. They were the ones who seemed to have the biggest problem with one another.

They could still hear each other, they made sure of that.

By the time it had gotten dark they were sure that the plan should be rolling by now.

“Where are they?” Ethan said, looking down the line.

“Just give them some time,” Jackson snapped.

“No he’s right, they should be here by now,” Isaac said.

“So what the hell’s going on?” Jackson asked.

Scott was trying to think of an answer when his ears picked up the sound of a gun letting off a shot. They all heard it, their heads snapping in that direction. Then came the sound of a painful scream.

“That was Daisy,” Aiden growled, breaking the formation to run towards the field.

“Aiden no!” Ethan called after him.

Jackson was quick off his mark, running after Aiden and then Ethan was following. Scott just growled out of frustration and he and Isaac were chasing after them.

They all came skidding to a halt when they say a hooded figure standing in the centre of the field, seemingly unarmed with nothing more than a small device in each hand.

“What the hell?” Jackson asked, his eyes moving shiftily towards Scott.

“Why is he just standing there?” Ethan said.

“Why are _we_ just standing _here_?” Aiden said before letting out a loud growl, baring his fangs and taking off.

Jackson was second to break, the two of them running at him like before and the rest followed. But something wasn’t right and Scott stopped because he could sense it.

Why would he just stand there unarmed in front of five werewolves?

“Wait!” he yelled and Isaac stopped, spinning around to look at him just as the figure pressed the button on the device in his right hand.

It detonated three small explosives that had been hidden under the grass just in front of them. Aiden and Jackson were thrown off their feet and back a few metres. Isaac and Ethan were knocked to the ground and Scott crouched, shielding his face from the debris of dirt and metal from the blasts.

As the dust was settling they heard a voice come from the figure, distorted and deep as if through a voice scrambler.

“This was just a game, and you’ve already lost,” he said and Scott tried to squint through the sand and dirt still lingering in the air. “Next time you won't see any mercy.”

He pressed the button on the second device and they all heard a piercing sound screeching through the air and it was absolutely excruciating. They felt like someone was shoving knives through their skull and into their brains and they couldn’t stop it.

“Come on!” Scott yelled over the sound but Jackson was knocked out and Isaac was trying to rouse him.

“Scott you’re going to have to help me here!” Isaac yelled over the noise.

Aiden had gotten to his feet, slightly less affected by the blast and let out a roar and the hooded figure put his hands into his jacket, pulling out a handgun and pointing it at him.

He fired four quick shots into his abdomen and Aiden dropped to the floor, the small ball bearing pellets slicing through him painfully. Ethan was ready to charge the figure when he saw the thin circle of black ash around him and he knew it was no use.

“Aiden come on!” he yelled, running to his brother and looping his arm over his shoulder to help him limp away.

Both Scott and Isaac had Jackson’s arms over their shoulders as they ran, hearing a few more shots as they did and Isaac felt one of them hit him in the back of the leg but they kept running, knowing that they were outsmarted this time and forgetting about hearing Daisy’s scream.

 

 

“Daisy!” Boyd called as Erica helped him run through the woods to find her.

They heard her scream and Boyd was hoping that the worst was that she had fallen in another pit or stepped in a trap but his gut told him that she wouldn’t be so lucky.

They followed her scent and Erica knew that she could smell blood coming from up ahead. Both of them came through the trees into a small clearing to a terrifying sight.

" _Daisy!_ " Boyd yelled, his face contorted and his fangs bared.

“Oh my god…” Erica said at the sight of the hooded figure holding Daisy by her blonde hair with a shiny knife held to her throat.

There were two bloody circles on her abdomen where she had been shot and the blood had seeped through her shirt. Daisy’s eyes were wide and she had a little foam at the corner of her mouth. By the look of it, the figure had managed to give her some kind of poison.

The figure had their face masked and hooded, hiding behind black clothes and big black boots. They held the blade to Daisy's throat with the sharp edge digging into her skin, drawing a tiny droplet of blood that slid down her pale neck.

"Vernon…" she whispered, pleaded with him to help but there was nothing he could do but stand before them as they stood on the flat rock in the clearing.

Erica snarled with her eyes glowing yellow.

"What do you want?!" she screamed, her fangs bared.

"Let her go!" Boyd growled, the two of them panting from their chase and hearts racing furiously.

He was so worried for Daisy, they knew what this person was capable of and the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt in the process.

"You know I can't do that,” the figure said, their voice scrambled.

"She has nothing to do with this! Let her go and take me instead!" Boyd growled.

Erica's head snapped to him and shook her head. "Boyd no…" she whispered.

The figure shook their head slowly. "She has everything to do with it… and there's nothing you can do."

Before either of them could react, the knife tore through Daisy's flesh, slicing open her jugular and spilling her blood all down her torso, her lips parted in a silent scream that she would never utter.

Erica gasped, her face human and tears brimming in her eyes as she clutched at her own throat and cupped her mouth with her hand. Boyd fell to his knees and screamed for her but it was too late, Daisy fell to the ground with a soft thud and the figure reached into their pocket.

Boyd let out an inhuman growl as he stared up at them but in an instant they were flicking their wrist and showering both Boyd and Erica in a mist of purple powder, engulfing them with it until all they could see was a vast nothingness and everything went black.


	41. Chapter Forty-One

"Where the hell are they?" Derek growled, pacing the floor of the loft.

"I'm sure they just had to follow something up," Scott offered, knowing that they would have at least called first had that been true.

"They've been gone all night, they should be back by now," Derek said, still pacing.

"Well we've got to do something. After what happened to Karissa's family, and Katherine, we can't just sit here and wait to find their bodies!" Isaac said, his leg tapping impatiently.

"What is there to do? We don’t even know where they headed. They were supposed to go to the lacrosse pitch with Daisy," Jackson said.

"We have to find them, we can't just leave them out there to die!" Isaac snapped just as Stiles and Allison walked in through the loft doors.

"What's going on?" She asked and Stiles looked from one to the other.

Derek sighed. "It's Erica and Boyd, they're missing."

                                                   

_11 hours earlier..._

_“Come on! Get him up onto the couch,” Derek said as Isaac helped along a very dazed looking Jackson._

_“I’m fine, alright? Just blacked out,” he said._

_Aiden let out a loud grunt as he scratched through the skin that had healed over the small metal pellet and dug it out of his side._

_“Who the fuck uses bullets like these?” he growled._

_“They’re supposed to cause more pain,” Lydia said, standing close to Jackson. “And in your case I’m guessing if they’re under the skin for too long they’ll dissolve and do even more damage.”_

_“How about we get ourselves some guns next time?” Aiden said, crying out in pain as he dug out another pellet._

_“Because we’re not trying to_ kill _them,” Scott said._

_“We aren’t?” Isaac asked._

_Scott just turned and raised his eyebrows at him. “No, we don’t want to kill anyone!”_

_“Maybe you don’t,” Ethan shrugged, folding his arms._

_“Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with him. I wouldn’t mind putting them in the ground,” Jackson said, holding his head and pulling a small piece of shrapnel out of his forearm._

_“Oh come one,” Scott said. “Derek?”_

_He spun around to look at Derek who just stared at him for a moment. “We tried this without using ammunition, maybe it’s time to go for a new method.”_

_“I never agreed to be a part of your pack if that meant killing people, and Stiles would agree with me.”_

_“Ouch, playing the ‘boyfriend card’,” Jackson said sarcastically, the bump to the head doing nothing to break his_ _satirical spirit._

_“Not cool dude,” Ethan said, shaking his head._

_“Hey, they’ve killed enough of us,” Aiden said. “Who cares if one or two of them ends up dead and buried?”_

_“Do you really want murder on your conscience?” Lydia asked and Scott gave her a grateful look._

_Jackson looked over to her, “You can't play that card with me,” he said, flashing his bright blue eyes._

_“All I’m saying is that there has to be a better way. And do you really think_ more guns _are the answer here?” she said._

_“Well it’s definitely not less guns,” Aiden said._

_“Enough bickering,” Derek said._

_“All I’m trying to say is that justice can be done in better ways than through more death,” Scott said._

_“But who are we kidding, this is America, guns solve all the answers,” Isaac said with a shrug and everyone collectively gave him a glare because this was not the time for ironic social commentary._

_“What we need,” Derek said. “Is to get some real information on who’s behind this. Allison and Stiles are working on it now. Hopefully by morning we’ll know more and we can make a solid plan, not just a hope and pray situation. They seem to know a lot more about us than we know about them and that’s what gives them power.”_

_“And what if they can’t figure anything out about them?” Isaac asked._

_“They will,” he said._

_“You heard from Daisy?” Aiden said quietly to Ethan._

_“No,” he said. “You think they’re on their way back?”_

_“I hope so.”_

_“They’ll be fine,” Isaac said with a nod but they could all hear it in his tone of voice, he was worried._

_Peter sat on one of the couches still, looking over at Lydia carefully. Ethan and Aiden had taken back their rings but the rest of the items were still on the table. She stared down at Daisy’s book, unsure of why it didn’t fit with the other pieces. Nothing was clear, and maybe that was because nothing was quite set in stone yet._

_They waited another hour to hear from Boyd and Erica but there was nothing but silence. They tried calling their phones but nothing and all of them felt the knot in their gut at the idea that maybe contacting them was no longer an option._

_From there they decided that they would wait up for them, taking it in shifts, but Derek never slept. He rang their phones so many times that he was sure their phones would run out of battery before they got to answer._

 

Erica blinked quickly as she stirred back to consciousness. Everything around her was blurry and she could feel the grass and dirt under her hand and it took a moment for the events of the night before to come back to her.

When they did she took a sharp gasp of air in and sat bolt upright. She looked around to see that they were still in the forest clearing, Boyd sitting by her side with a blank gaze on his face as he stared straight ahead.

Erica felt a pang in her chest and turned to look over at the tree nearby and the puddle of blood at its base. It was mostly dry by now, and the sun was already up, which meant they had been out there all night.

She turned back to Boyd and almost said something stupid like ‘we’re alive’ but thought better of it.

“Boyd?” she said softly.

He said nothing. He just sat there, his legs crossed and his elbow resting on his knees as he played with his hands.

“Boyd… you can't blame yourself for this…” she said and he looked over at her.

“I knew we shouldn’t have been out here,” he said.

“Then you should also know that she was never going to sit back on the sidelines, no matter what you said,” Erica said.

“She would have listened, I could have made her listen,” he said.

“You know that’s not true Boyd! She might not even be gone, she could still be alive―”

“You saw her get her throat cut right in front of you! How can you possibly believe that’s true?”

“She’s a werewolf, we can survive things like that,” Erica offered.

“Does that look like a safe amount of blood to lose?” he pointed to the dark pool over to the side. “She’s dead, Erica. Why would you even think that she wasn’t?”

“Because _we’re_ not dead!” she yelled. “For god’s sake Boyd she could have been strung up in that tree like all the rest of them were, and so could we, so excuse me if I cling on to the last piece of hope that we have!”

Boyd looked away shaking his head, two tears spilling from the corners of his eyes. “What point is there in hoping for anything anymore?”

“Boyd…” Erica said sadly, reaching out to comfort him with a hand on his arm.

He wouldn’t look up at her and she felt the anger surge through her.

She got to her feet and looked around. “Why the _hell_ are we still out here?” she said angrily.

“Erica…” Boyd said.

She took a few purposeful steps before colliding with an invisible barrier. As she looked up and then down Boyd just let out a sigh.

“Don’t you think I tried to leave?” he said.

She realised what it was and rolled her eyes as she let out a frustrated groan. “Mountain ash,” she said through gritted teeth.

Boyd nodded and she sat back down beside him.

“Why would they leave us here?” she asked.

He shook his head and shrugged.

“Did they take our phones?” she asked as she felt around in her pockets.

“Kind of,” he said.

“Kind of? How do you kind of―” he pointed to both of their phones, sat side-by-side on the grass, about an inch outside the ring of mountain ash. “Okay that’s just cruel,” she said.

“Makes it kind of clear though,” Boyd said.

“Makes what clear?”

“They don’t want us to tell them where we are, they want us to be found.”

Erica sighed. “Right, so we’re bait.” Boyd nodded. “And there’s nothing we can do about it.”

 

 

“Well we have to do something,” Isaac said as Derek paced across the loft floor.

“Where were they last?” he asked, stopping to look over at Scott and Jackson.

“Last we knew they were on their way to the field,” Scott said.

“Yeah, and then we heard Daisy scream and that was the end of that plan,” Aiden said, looking less than impressed to still be there.

“So we go down there, follow their scent from their last known location,” Derek said.

“No,” Lydia said, surprising herself.

They all looked over to her and she cleared her throat a little.

“I don’t think Derek should go,” she said.

Derek raised an eyebrow at her. “Why not?”

“Look at the trend,” she said. “Dalia was killed first, followed by Freya, and then they tried to target Karissa. After that they went for Katherine and you.”

“They’re taking out the alphas first,” Stiles said with an understanding nod.

“If I’m right, you’ll find the three of them alive but it’ll be an ambush,” she said.

“And if you’re wrong?” Ethan said.

She gave him a look. “If I’m wrong then we both know what you might find.”

“So Derek stays here, who goes?” Jackson said, folding his arms.

“I would be happy to volunteer my services,” Peter said and Derek glared at him for a moment, unsure as to whether he had a secret agenda.

“I’ll go,” Allison said. “I can carry a pistol and I have my bow, works just as fast.”

“Well you can’t go with just him,” Isaac said with a shrug.

“I’m not going to take no for an answer, I’m coming,” Aiden said forcefully.

“Who gave you the option?” Jackson asked.

“Daisy is a part of my pack,” he said, looking slightly hurt as he said it. “ _Was_ a part of our pack, I’m not even sure we can call it that anymore.”

“I don’t want anyone else going,” Derek said. “Keep it small. Allison, do you have enough weapons for them?”

She smiled a little, “I’m sure we can find them something.”

“I thought we agreed no guns?” Scott said.

“It’s just a precaution,” Isaac soothed.

Scott just sighed and held his tongue because he knew this was one argument he wasn’t going to win.

It wasn’t much longer until they had made their way to Allison’s to grab some weapons, her father was out at the time and would probably put _her_ head on a spike when he found out they’d taken them. She drove them down to the edge of the woods and made sure each of them had a firearm.

As much as she didn’t trust Peter, she knew that he wouldn’t do something as stupid as to hurt one of them. She hoped anyway.

She had her quiver slung over her shoulder and an arrow mounted on her bow, ready for firing at short notice. She had to rely on the other three as her guide through the woods, they were going by scent trails and she was merely a follower.

“They definitely came this way,” Isaac said, following a lead into the trees.

“Hey look at this,” Aiden said.

He was a little way up ahead and was staring down into the trapping pit. Some of the spikes had dried blood on them and the scent was still clear.

“That’s Daisy’s,” he said.

“Let’s keep going,” Isaac said.

As they followed the trail further it became easier, the smell of blood getting stronger the further they went. As Peter stepped through the trees and into the clearing he stopped, staring over at Erica and Boyd, who were both standing in the shade of a tree.

Clearly they had heard them coming.

Isaac felt his whole body relax a little at the sight of them standing there, it at least meant they were still alive.

He made a move for them but Peter put his arm across his chest and held him back. “Wait,” he said.

“Wait? Wait for what?” he asked.

“Where’s Daisy?” Aiden said.

“What are they doing?” Allison asked.

“Trap,” Peter said and Allison rolled her eyes.

“Well I’m not just going to stand here,” Isaac said, shaking his head as he began walking through the clearing.

“Isaac!” Allison hissed.

He kept walking towards them and she followed, arrow at the ready. He got closer and closer and could see the sadness in their eyes and felt like he didn’t have to ask what happened to Daisy.

“What are you two doing―” he was cut off when he hit the invisible barrier and Allison stepped into him from the back. “Ah, I see.”

“Well what did you think? We were just standing around out here all night for the fun of it?” Erica snapped.

“Hey, we came out here to find you,” Isaac said.

“Yeah? Well you’re lucky you brought someone human or what good would you be,” she said.

Allison took a few steps around Isaac and broke the circle around them with her foot.

That was about the time Peter and Aiden made their way over.

“Something is not right,” Peter said, looking around carefully.

“Well done, you get todays allotted genius points for being clever enough to figure that out,” Isaac said.

“Where’s Daisy?” Aiden repeated, looking from Erica to Boyd.

Erica swallowed and looked away, Boyd just gave him a cold hard stare. “She’s dead.”

“What? No…” Aiden said.

“We don’t know for sure Boyd,” Erica said.

“That’s her blood, we saw that monster cut her throat,” he said. “Just… let it go.”

Boyd walked past all of them and back the way they came.

“No, no… that’s not enough blood to kill a person,” Aiden said, and Erica just closed her eyes, trying not to think about it. “No, that’s… she can’t be dead, there has to be some other explanation for why she’s not here.”

Isaac and Allison gave one another a quick glance before avoiding everyone’s gaze and keeping their eyes away from the blood that littered the floor.

“I’ve been trying to believe that too,” Erica said. “There has to be some reason―” she reached out to put her hand on Aiden’s arm but he snatched it away viciously.

“ _Don’t_ touch me,” he growled, his anger coming through.

Erica’s face went cold and she turned away from him, looking up at Isaac and Allison who were avoiding her eyes.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said.

She picked up their phones from the floor and began following Boyd away.

Isaac wanted to tell Aiden that she was just trying to comfort him, but he knew it wasn’t the time. Allison had her bow back up and Peter was circling slowly, trying to scan the trees.

“See anything?” she asked.

“No,” he said, an air of confusion in his voice.

“How is there nothing out here?” Allison said, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“It does if they weren’t waiting for us,” Peter said.

“Let’s just get out of here,” Isaac said.

He turned to look at Aiden who was trying to find any sign that Daisy might still be alive.

“Her scent fades off in that direction but I can’t… I can’t catch it properly!” he growled.

“They’ve probably been masking their scent,” Allison said. “It’ll be why none of you seem to know they’re here until you can see or hear them.”

“I was talking about Daisy’s scent, not theirs,” he snapped.

“What makes you think they can’t mask hers too?” Allison said.

“We have to go Aiden,” Isaac said.

“What? So we’ve got your pack but mine can just die out here?”

“That’s _not_ what I said!” Isaac growled.

“Both of you, shut up!” Peter snarled. “We can leave now or we can spend some more time out here and we can all risk dying.”

“He’s right,” Allison said reluctantly.

Aiden just let out a sigh and then grunted loudly in frustration, following Boyd and Erica away.

Isaac kept his senses honed in on anything that could be suspicious, and Allison never lowered her bow until they made it to her car where just Erica and Aiden were waiting, facing away from one another coldly.

“Where’s Boyd?” Isaac asked.

“He headed for the loft on his own,” Erica said.

“What? Erica why―” Isaac started.

“Do you think I control him? Do you think I _didn’t_ try to make him stop?” she growled.

“Okay, alright,” Isaac said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry.”

“Everyone just get in the car,” Peter said, and Allison took one last look around them with her arrow poised before climbing into the driver’s seat and making their way back.

 

 

Cal sat perched in a tree at a decent distance from the clearing, watching the two wolves trapped in the circle. He held up a small pair of binoculars to keep an eye on them, his gun strapped in the holster on his leg.

They were clearly confused, and he had thought maybe the alpha would have come for them earlier but he was wrong. When he saw them pick up and stare off across the clearing he changed his focus to the edge of the tree line, one hand ready to pull his pistol from its place.

The first ones to emerge were the rogue and the hunter, her bow in the ready position. Then came one of the others, and the friend that Cassie held in such high regard.

Cal sneered at him, wondering if he shot him down now Cassie would finally see what he really was. He watched him cross the clearing and hit the mountain ash barrier and shook his head. He had seen him do the same with the rogue back at the burning house.

He lied to Cassie about who had been there, just as he would do about this. If she was going to find out about him then she would have to do it herself. He knew just how to set it out too.

In his mind it wasn’t cruel, it was necessary. She couldn’t get attached to things like him. He knew that. She had to forget about when he was human, because that was gone now, and she needed to be ruthless.

Just like him.

His anger ticked at the fact that the alpha didn’t show, but it didn’t surprise him. He saw them holding their weapons and his brow furrowed. They were prepared out here, this was _their_ hunting grounds.

It was time to change their tactics and single them out.

There was one sure fire way to get to the alpha, all they needed was something to trigger a response.

 

 

The loft was a sombre place when they returned. Boyd showed up, not long after the others, but he had nothing to say. Ethan wasn’t quite as angry as his brother had been to learn of what happened to Daisy, he wasn’t as optimistic either.

He and Boyd had both resigned themselves to the fact that she was gone, Erica and Aiden tried to find any shred of hope that might mean she was still alive somewhere.

Lydia kept her mouth shut. Along with Derek and Peter, she knew that she had separated Daisy from the rest of the group, but she hadn’t been able to figure out why. Now she did, she was just hoping that she wasn’t about to stumble across her body.

Derek offered Boyd the spare bedroom but he refused it, and eventually Allison convinced him to let her take him home.

Ethan and Aiden were in two minds about staying, not just in the loft, but in Beacon Hills.

Ethan wanted to leave before things got worse, but Aiden refused to leave before they found Daisy, alive or not. Ethan just shook his head, told him that he needed to face the reality of it. In the end the two of them left, none of the others able to stop them.

Stiles explained to the rest of them that he and Allison had spent most of the night looking at old files, and that there were some that looked promising, but they were still working on it.

When Lydia and Jackson left they took Erica with them, Lydia offering her house as somewhere she could clean up. Sure, Erica could have gone home, but Lydia could see that she didn’t really want to be alone.

Peter managed to slip out relatively unnoticed. Stiles made a comment about how he still gives him the creeps and Isaac seconded it.

Stiles had also noticed that while Derek held his hip with an arm around his waist, he seemed to have a tighter grip than usual.

Scott and Isaac settled on the couch, and he and Derek made their way up the stairs to Derek’s bedroom.

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked as Derek sat down on the edge of the bed.

Derek looked up at him, holding out his hand. Stiles walked towards him and stood between his knees so that Derek could wrap his arms around his thighs and rest his head against his stomach.

Stiles ran his fingers through Derek’s hair and Derek closed his eyes.

He didn’t know what Lydia’s prediction meant, but he hoped like hell that it was wrong.

He turned his head to kiss him, once and then once again, lifting his hands to pull up the hem of Stiles’ shirt as he placed a third kiss on his bare skin. Stiles closed his eyes and nodded a little.

“Not really what I asked, but okay,” he said.

Derek dragged his hands up the back of Stiles’ legs, over his ass and gently raked his nails up and down the smooth skin of his back, his lips still peppering soft kisses on his stomach. Stiles lifted his arms and pulled his shirt over his head, making Derek chuckle a little.

“What? Makes it easier doesn’t it?” Stiles said.

“You’re always impatient, for everything,” Derek murmured.

“Yeah well… you would be too if I was as good as you are at… you know, _that_ ,” he said and Derek shook his head, pulling away to sit back on the bed.

Stiles climbed up next to him and put a hand to the side of his face, leaning in to kiss him softly. He opened his mouth a little, his tongue running along the soft line of Derek’s top lip and Derek sighed before taking Stiles’ hips in his hands and rolling him so that he was on his back.

He stared down at him and smiled. “You are,” he said.

Stiles scoffed with a shrug. “You’re just saying that because I know you well enough to know what you like.”

“Are you saying that doesn’t make it good?” Derek raised an eyebrow.

“All I’m saying is that if I’m good it’s because you made me good,” he said.

Derek’s eyebrow stayed raised. “I _made_ you good?”

“Well I’m not saying I was bad, I mean I don’t know what I was because you know, I hadn’t had the chance to try it yet,” he said.

Derek leant in with a smile, his mouth nuzzling at Stiles’ neck. “You’ve always been good for me,” he purred, pulling his earlobe between his lips and sucking on it gently.

Stiles swallowed hard and just turned his head to give Derek a better angle as he ran his tongue over the muscle in his neck.

“You see, even just… when you talk, how do you do that?” he said, moaning as Derek began sucking a mark into his skin.

“I know what you like too Stiles,” he said, pulling back to look at the purple shape he had just made on the side of his neck.

“You also sort of like leaving those,” Stiles said, biting his bottom lip.

“Well, you can’t give them to me so I might as well,” he said.

“That sucks you know,” Stiles said.

“I thought that was the point?” Derek grinned.

“No, I mean… you’d look so hot all marked up like that,” he shrugged.

Derek just kissed him once before rolling onto his back.

“So, have you got any plans?” Stiles asked, turning on his side to look at him.

Derek sighed and shook his head. “Not yet,” he said.

“Well when I go home I’m going to keep looking through the files, we are going to get through this,” he said.

“I know,” Derek said quietly.

“So did you get anything out of your time with Lydia?” he asked and Derek just looked over at him.

He reached out to stroke the side of his face and Stiles leant into his hand, blinking slowly.

“Can we just not talk about any of it? Can we just lie here for a little while?” he said.

Stiles smiled. “Yeah, yeah of course.”

He wriggled down so that Derek could curl up around him, nuzzling his nose against the back of his neck.

Stiles chuckled. “Stop it that tickles,” he mumbled.

Derek just did it one more time before placing a kiss on the back of his head.

“I uh, I sent out my college applications yesterday,” he said quietly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, sent them to Portland and Denver, one to Arizona State… and Berkeley,” he said.

“Berkeley huh?” Derek mumbled.

“Yup, I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes,” Stiles said and then they both fell quiet.

Derek didn’t want to tell him about Lydia’s prediction, he didn’t even want to think about it. If she knew something was going to happen to Daisy then it was likely that something was going to happen with the other four too, he just hoped they could stop it before it was too late.

 

 

Stiles stayed at the loft for a few hours before heading home. He told Derek he was going to be doing some homework, which was half true, but mostly he was looking over some of the small files he took from Allison’s place.

He was still stuck on the Stancliff file. It was so perfect, he had been so sure that it was what they were looking for until it said that the professor was dead. Still, nothing else fit, so he took it out again and started looking up articles about it on the internet.

The early ones said all the same things.

 

_Senior Lecturer in anthropology and mythology Dr Richard Stancliff was found dead in his office this morning by one of his students._

_Police are still inspecting the scene but his death was believed to be the result of an animal attack._

_Senior Detective Roger Cummings says that the scene was one of the worst he’s witnessed in all his years on the force._

_‘It was a pretty grisly sight,’ he said._

_‘There was a lot of blood and we assume the animal found its way onto campus, the student who found him said that he often worked with his door open.’_

_The young student has since been offered counselling after appearing visibly traumatised by her discovery of the anthropology professor._

There were a few stories about the student. They weren’t named and the videos that were attached to the articles had since been blocked.

Stiles was able to find a path to one of the filed reports but all the details had been supressed. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know the full story because he knew there was more to it, something he was missing.

He had to get into that file, but how could he unlock it?

“Oh!” he said loudly.

Something clicked in his head, and he had his keys in one hand and the Stancliff file in the other as he headed out to door.

 

 

When Ethan had left the loft with Aiden, both of them had made their way back to the small motel that they had set up camp in after they had been attacked that night. Neither of them said much to one another, there wasn’t much more to say. They both knew that they could stick around to look for Daisy, or they could leave.

Ethan knew that if they were going to find her it would be in the next few days so he decided to take the afternoon to say goodbye to Danny.

He hadn’t meant to get as involved as he did, but Danny was just… well he was everything he had been looking for before they even got to Beacon Hills. It was never going to last and he had accepted that a long while ago, but he had to at least say goodbye.

He and Danny haven’t seen one another since before the conflict with Derek’s pack, since Katherine was still alive, so he was a little surprised to see Ethan standing on his porch with his hands tucked innocently into his pockets.

“Hi…” Danny said, leaning against the doorframe and folding his arms.

“Hey,” Ethan said and the two just stared at one another for a moment. “Mind if I come in?”

“I might,” Danny said, raising an eyebrow. “Where the hell have you been?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Ethan said.

“Well I’ve kind of got stuff to study for,” Danny said.

Ethan sighed, he didn’t want to hurt Danny in the process of all this but it was clear that he did. The only way to reconcile anything was with the truth… or at least part of it.

“I get that you’re angry but honestly I have a really good reason for not calling or texting… just give me the chance to explain?” he said.

Danny just looked at him for a minute before sighing with a roll of his eyes. “Alright,” he said.

He pushed the door ajar and Ethan walked through it and towards Danny’s bedroom up the stairs. Danny followed him in and shut the door behind them.

“Just one thing before we start,” he said, stepping towards Ethan and pulling him in for a kiss.

For a second Ethan was shocked but he quickly picked his hand up to caress Danny’s cheek. Their embrace didn’t last long before Danny was pulling back and shaking his head at him.

“Don’t think that means I’m not pissed,” Danny said and Ethan managed to smile a little. “No matter what’s going on you can still send a text to let me know what’s going on.”

“Yeah, yeah I know, I just…” he sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “You remember Katherine?”

Danny shrugged and walked over to sit beside him. “The intense lady you live with right? Yeah, I remember her.”

“She’s dead,” Ethan said.

“ _Shit_ , are you okay? What happened?” Danny asked, feeling a little guilty about being so angry at him.

“It doesn’t really matter what happened, and yeah I’m okay.”

“Well it kind of does matter, was it sudden? I mean was there any warning?”

“There probably should have been but… no not really,” he said.

“Well hey, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. You know you didn’t have to do that on your own right?” Danny put his hand on Ethan’s knee and Ethan put his hand over it, looking up at him with a warm smile.

“I had my brother, we’re a pretty solid unit,” he said. “But I uh, I actually came here to tell you that we might be leaving town.”

“What?” Danny asked.

“It’s sort of complicated,” Ethan shrugged and gave Danny apologetic eyes.

“You didn’t do something crazy and stupid did you?” Danny said with a smile as he tried to lighten the mood.

“Not really, no. It’s just―”

“Hey… it’s okay,” Danny said. “I get it, sometimes things are more complicated than they look.”

“Yeah.”

“But you know that sometimes the things we think are complicated are actually just hard to explain,” he said.

Ethan leant in to kiss him, his hand sliding around to the back of his head as Danny put his spare hand on his side.

“You’re the only thing here that I’ll actually miss,” Ethan said before his lips were pressed against Danny’s again.

“You could stay for the rest of senior year, it’s not that long,” he said, his fingers lifting the hem of his shirt a little.

“I’m not really one for school,” he said, deepening their kiss.

It was at that moment that they both heard someone come running up the stairs and half knocking, half blatantly opening the bedroom door.

“Hey Danny, your mom let me in and said you were― whoa, so sorry dude,” Stiles said as he covered his eyes with the papers in his hand.

Danny shook his head and Ethan pulled back from him to grunt loudly in annoyance.

“Stiles, what are you doing here?” Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re kind of in the middle of something,” Ethan said.

“From where I’m standing it looks like you’re only just starting,” Stiles said.

“ _Stiles_ ,” Danny said. “Why are you here?”

“Ask you for a favour,” he said, pulling a hopeful face.

“Oh god, what do you want?” Danny said, a smile creeping onto his lips because he knew this was going to be something completely random and obscure.

“Just… to get you to unlock a document online for me,” he said.

Danny narrowed his eyes, “Just how tech savvy do you think I am?”

“You want him to hack something for you?” Ethan asked.

“Not ‘hack’ just… procure information that isn’t exactly accessible per se,” Stiles shrugged.

“What is it you want me to hack into?” he said.

“There’s this file, a report, it’s been supressed by police records for some reason and I… want to see… what’s in it,” he said, saying it out loud finally making him realise how illegal this probably was.

“What? No, why would I do that?” Danny asked.

“I can give you twenty bucks,” Stiles said and Danny just laughed.

“You think I want you to pay me to hack into a system to unlock some report that you want? What is this file anyway?”

“It’s just this little murder where details about certain things were blocked from being accessed, but only after the report was made so technically you would just be looking for the first version of the file,” he said.

“You have weirder and weirder requests each time you talk to me, you know that right?” Danny said.

“I know, just humour me this one last time and I won't ask for anything ever again, until, you know, I need something,” he said.

Danny sighed and looked over at Ethan.

“What’s the murder?” Ethan asked.

“Just some professor, it’s probably nothing,” he said and Danny looked from Ethan to Stiles as if there was something being said without him knowing. “Look, I will owe you so much if you do this.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Fine, but only because I know you’re probably not going to leave until I do.”

“Yes!” Stiles hissed as Danny got up to sit at his computer. “All the stuff is in here.”

He handed him the papers and Danny just looked up at him with a ‘why do I do this’ stare.

He followed the link address, checked out the page’s code and thought about how to go about it.

“If the original report was posted then I can source a copy of it through the back channels but if it was only the recent document then I can’t do anything without going through the police systems from… Colorado PD,” he said. “Same with the video files.”

“Okay, just focus Danny-boy,” Stiles said, scanning the screen and not understanding a word of the java code.

He typed in a few commands and both Stiles and Ethan were a little transfixed by what he was doing. Danny made it look easy and seemed hopeful when a second window popped up.

“Okay so that’s a news video,” he said as he went through more script until he was bringing up a photocopied document that had been scanned through and uploaded. “And this should have all the supressed information,” he said.

“Danny you are a genius!” Stiles said and Danny got out of the chair to let him sit.

“Okay, but if people come knocking at my door I’m totally ratting you out,” he said.

“I think that’s a fair trade,” he said.

“Hey,” Danny said to Ethan, taking his hand. “Let’s go downstairs.”

“This is your room you know,” Ethan said.

“Yeah but if you leave him to his devices he’ll be done quicker,” Danny said, tilting his head towards the hall and Ethan followed him out, leaving Stiles to browse through the document himself.

There was most of the things that he’d already seen, including the way the professor died, how his body was nearly torn in half, the way he had been slumped over his desk, and as he got further down the report, the student who found him that way.

“Authorities alerted of possible case of homicide by victim’s student Cassidy Calhoun… _Cassidy Calhoun_ …” Stiles said the name back to himself.

It couldn’t be…

He clicked over to the next window where the blocked video was now loaded and finally available to play.

It appeared to be a news broadcast during the early hours of the forensic investigation because the news presenter stood in front of the office and Stiles could see a coroner’s van in the background. She gave the basic details, all of which Stiles has read over and over again.

When she mentioned the local student who found him they switched to a clip they had taken earlier, the girl’s face in clear view as a man and a woman tried to take her away from the scene.

At first all Stiles could see was the girl’s long brown hair swishing as she yelled and struggled against the forces holding her, but when the camera zoomed in a little her face was as clear as a mirror.

“ _You don’t understand! This was them! This was those monsters_!” she was screaming, her face red and tear stained and Stiles felt his jaw drop.

“Oh my god,” he said as he stared at Isaac’s old friend crying and shouting and it was too much of a coincidence not to be the truth.

He pulled out his keys which had a thumb drive attached as a key chain and plugged it in to the computer, saving the files to it and closing it all off Danny’s computer.

He grabbed his papers and ran hurriedly downstairs, passing Danny and Ethan in the living room as he made his way to the door.

“Where are you going so quickly?” Danny asked.

“I’ve got to go tell my dad something, thanks for the help!” he called over his shoulder as his shut the front door behind himself.

“That was weird, right?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah but weird is his thing, you can’t take that away from him,” he said. “Also, if you’re going to be leaving we’re going to have to talk about something other than Stiles.”

“That was my intention,” Ethan said with a small smile.

 

Stiles had tried calling his dad’s cell phone as he was on his way down to the station, he even called his work number but no one was answering. The _one_ time he actually needed to tell him something he was completely unreachable.

He parked his jeep in the station parking lot and started dialling his dad’s number again.

“Hey Stiles.”

He stopped quickly and locked his phone, turning slowly to see Cassie standing behind him with a smile.

“Hey… Cassie,” he said.

“What you doing here?” she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“I uh… actually came to talk to you,” he said.

“You did?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s college application time and I guess I had a few questions about Denver.”

“Sure,” she said, taking a few steps closer. “What do you want to know?”

“What uh, what kind of practical study options to they have there?” he asked. “I mean do you get to practice what you’re taught?”

She shrugged. “That just depends on what you want to learn, and who your professor is.”

“Did you have any really inspirational teachers?” he asked. “Anyone you _really_ looked up to?”

She smiled a little, “A few that I can think of, why do you ask?”

He shrugged, his heart pounding. “Just doing a little… research.”

“That’s a smart plan,” she said.

His gaze became locked onto hers and he knew that she had to have seen through his deliberate questions.

“Well, I think that was all,” he said, taking a step back. “Might just go in and see my dad.”

“Alright, well, goodnight Stiles,” she said.

“Goodnight Cassidy,” he said and he watched her lips twist into a smile.

“No one’s called me that in a long time,” she said.

Stiles went to take a few more steps back but she just shook her head.

“Can’t let you do that Stiles,” she said, pulling out a small hand held Taser out from her back pocket and aiming it at his chest.

“You know this place has security cameras,” he said, looking around with his eyes to see that there was no one else in the parking lot but them.

She chuckled, “I’ve been working here for weeks Stiles, of course I know that.”

He closed his eyes, knowing what was coming and that there wasn’t a person around who could intervene. As he opened them he saw someone out of the corner of his eye but he felt his heart sink as the guy just smirked and folded his arms.

Cassie pulled the trigger on the Taser and Stiles dropped to his knees as the volts jerked through him. She held it down long enough for him to lose consciousness and sighed.

“He’s very clever this one,” she said.

“Well if you want to match the little deviant then grab his keys,” Cal said. “We can’t get caught with the Sheriff’s son in his own backyard.”

She searched his pockets, the keys giving her a little zap as she took them out and Cal hoisted Stiles up to carry him to the jeep. Cassie opened up the back and Cal tossed him in.

They climbed into the front and Cassie started the car. “Lucky this place has rear parking,” she said.

“Just drive,” Cal said as they pulled out of the parking lot and off to somewhere far less hospitable.


	42. Chapter Forty-Two

When Stiles woke up his head was throbbing and his hip was aching, probably from where he had been thrown into the back of his jeep. His vision was blurry and as he sat up he realised his hands were in chains and he was lying on a cement floor.

As he slowly came to he saw someone standing in front of him. He blinked a few times and looked up to see Cassie standing there just staring down.

“You’re awake,” she said. “For a second there I thought I zapped you too hard.”

“Where did you take me?” he grunted as he tried to sit up.

He heard a scoff from somewhere off to the right and tried to look up but his head was absolutely pounding. His eyes slowly adjusted and he was able to get a good look at the room he was in.

It seems to be some kind of abandoned factory and they were probably out back in one of the holding areas. He could see there was a table and chairs over to one side but otherwise there were boxes and crates and old metal structures that obscured most of his vison of the room. His chains were locked around his wrists and attached to the wall, virtually unbreakable, for him anyway.

Cassie had her arms folded as she looked down at him and Cal leant up against the door with a scowl on his face.

“Keep an eye on him,” he said, turning to leave the room. “I’ve got work to do.”

Cassie’s shoulders relaxed a little as she watched him disappear through the doors.

“What time is it?” he asked, still looking around.

She shrugged, “Probably later than you’re thinking.”

“Why am I here?” he grunted.

“You ask a lot of questions,” Cassie said, grabbing the water bottle from the stack of crates beside her and handing it to him.

He looked at it cautiously and she rolled her eyes.

“It’s not poison or anything if that’s what you’re wondering,” she said.

“Oh, well if my _kidnapper_ tells me it’s not poison then _clearly_ I have no reason to be doubtful,” he said.

She narrowed her eyes, “I take it back, maybe I should have zapped you _harder_.”

She put the bottle within his grasp and turned around, walking back towards the table and looking over something. He looked down at it, he was really thirsty.

“Just take the water,” she said without looking up. “If the whole point was killing you we would have done it by now.”

“Oh yeah? Well what _is_ the point?” Stiles asked, stretching awkwardly and trying not to drop the bottle despite the fact that his hands were too close to one another.

“You’re a smarty pants, figure it out,” she said.

“I can’t believe I didn’t put this together sooner,” he grumbled, taking a sip and instantly feeling a little better. “I mean come on, it’s so obvious.”

“Well maybe you’re not at intuitive as you thought,” she said, looking over at him like she was already sick of his voice.

“Or maybe you’re just a psychopath who can keep the crazy locked up long enough to have everyone fooled,” he said.

“I think you’re talking about a sociopath Stiles,” she sighed.

“No, I’ve seen the video, you’re not incapable of emotion,” he said.

Her head snapped up that time and he saw the anger tick across her face, or was it fear?

“Very clever,” she said.

She walked over to him and crouched down.

“You want to know why you’re here Stiles?” she asked. “You want to know why we picked the most vulnerable human in your pathetic little pack?”

Stiles just looked at her, waiting for her too keep going. So she knew that he was human, she knew that others were human, but he couldn’t quite tell if she knew how many of them were wolves.

“You’re the key to this, to getting the job done.”

“The key? To what? What _job_?” he asked.

“We came to Beacon Hills following the scent of another pack, another alpha, and when we got here we found so much more than that. When we got here there were signs of something else, and after looking through the police reports I knew there’d been a Maeve here recently, I didn’t know there’d been _three_ ,” she said.

“The main goal was to take down the matriarch, and we managed that. The other two would have just been good sense to take down. It’s the same with werewolves.”

“You took down Katherine first…” Stiles said, filling in the blanks. “She was the alpha, and then you went for Derek.”

“One alpha down and the other one just keeps dodging out bullets.”

“You chose me to get to Derek,” Stiles said with a sigh. “You think he’ll do anything to keep me alive.”

“Even if that means giving himself up,” she said. “Without an alpha you can't make any more werewolves. Sure, betas can rise to the occasion, but if the alpha’s dead and there is no line of succession it’s a hell of a lot harder.”

“What makes you think they won't have a plan?”

“What makes you think we don’t?” she stood up and smiled before turning away.

“They’re not monsters Cassie!” Stiles shouted but she ignored him, not saying another word.

 

 

Scott felt an odd pinch in his stomach. It had been there for hours and he couldn’t figure out why.

It was like a tugging sensation that just wouldn’t go away, a pull that felt almost as though it was trying to tell him something. He pushed it aside because he hadn’t made the connection yet, and no one even knew that Stiles was missing.

He sat at the table with his mother, picking at his dinner as the feeling continued to gnaw at him.

“You alright Scott?” she asked.

He sighed and put his fork down. “Yeah, fine I think,” he said.

“You think? Oh god, what is it now?” she said.

“Nothing, well, no more than I already told you, it’s just…”

“Just what?” she asked, staring over at her son with his furrowed brow.

“Something just doesn’t feel right. I’ve just got this feeling.”

“Is this a werewolf thing?” she asked. “I can’t help you there, but if it’s a human thing I’ll give it my best shot,” she gave him a warm smile that he couldn’t quite return.

“It doesn’t feel like a werewolf thing, but maybe it is… I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should call Derek, ask him if he’s felt anything like it before.”

“Maybe…” he said, going back to picking at his food.

Melissa knew there wasn’t much else she could say or do to help him out, and she hoped he would at least _try_ to talk to Derek because she hated being helpless, and it was even worse when Scott felt that way too.

After dinner, when the feeling had made a home in his gut he took out his phone to call Isaac who was staying at Derek’s.

“Hey, what’s up? You okay?” he said as he answered.

“I think so,” Scott said.

“You think so? What is it, what’s wrong?” Isaac said and Scott heard him get up out of his chair.

“Nothing, nothing, I’m fine,” he said.

And maybe he was, maybe he was fine, but for some reason there was that crappy feeling in his body and Stiles kept coming to mind.

“Are you sure?”

“Maybe, look, is Stiles there still?” he asked.

“Uh, no, I think he left a couple of hours ago, why?”

“I sent him a few texts and didn’t get anything back, and I just have a weird feeling is all. It’s probably nothing.”

“I can ask Derek if you want,” Isaac said.

“ _Ask me what?_ ” Scott heard Derek’s voice at a distance from the receiver.

“No! Isaac forget it I’m probably just being―”

“When did Stiles leave here?” Isaac asked him and Derek stopped to give him a strange look.

“Five hours ago, why?”

“Scott just sent him some texts and he hasn’t replied,” Isaac said and Scott just rubbed his face with his hand because the longer they talked about it the stupider it sounded.

“Isaac, seriously, it’s fine,” he said.

“Look you wouldn’t have called if it was fine, you know that. Clearly you’re worried,” Isaac said.

“Scott,” Derek said a little louder and Isaac just put the phone on speaker. “What’s going on?”

He hadn’t told them about Lydia’s vague predictions yet, he was hoping he would never have to.

“Nothing! Okay?” he said and then sighed. “I just had a weird feeling, and then he wouldn’t answer me―”

“How long have you had the feeling?” he asked, worry lines creasing his forehead.

“You don’t think something’s _actually_ wrong do you?” Isaac asked.

“Scott, how long?” Derek said.

“I don’t know, two hours, maybe three?”

“Let me try calling him,” Derek said, taking his phone out of his pocket and dialling Stiles’ number.

He put the phone to his ear and it rang through to the voicemail. He grunted a little and left a message. “Stiles, when you get this I need you to call me back, okay? Call me.”

As he hung up Isaac gave him a worried look, “He didn’t pick up.”

Derek stared stoically ahead. “I’m going to see if he’s home,” he said, walking over to grab his jacket.

“What’s going on?” Scott said.

“Tell Scott I’ll call him when I know he’s okay,” Derek said.

“Why are you so worked up about this? Both of you,” Isaac asked.

“You don’t remember what Karissa said, do you?” Derek turned to look at him. “When she helped Stiles at the hospital she said that he and Scott would have a bond, that Scott would know when Stiles was in trouble, that he’d feel a pull, do you really think I’m going to take a chance after everything?”

“Yeah, okay, you have a point,” Isaac said.

Derek headed out of the loft and Scott was feeling worse than ever, “You don’t think he’s in any serious danger do you?” he asked.

“I can try to call Karissa, I think Derek has her number stashed around here somewhere,” Isaac said.

“Let me know what she says if you get through,” he said.

“I’ll call you back soon, okay? I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Yeah, I hope you’re right.”

 

 

Stiles heard his phone buzzing on the table by Cassie and watched as she turned to look at the illuminated face.

“Scott’s been texting you… a lot,” she said as she waited for it to ring out.

“They’re going to figure this out you know,” he said, his stomach growling.

“This time it’s the alpha calling,” she said, turning to look at him. “Think we should answer?”

“Why are you telling me? I know you’re not going to answer it so why even bother saying anything. I can hear it ringing, I’ve heard it go off every time,” Stiles said, his mood worsened from a lack of food and the frustration of being stuck on a hard cement floor doing nothing for hours.

“Too late anyway,” she said with a shrug. “But I think you have a new voicemail.”

The phone pinged as it came through and she dialled the voicemail service.

“Well apparently you have one new message,” she said, holding the phone up and pressing the speaker button.

_“Stiles, when you get this I need you to call me back, okay? Call me.”_

Derek’s voice came ringing through the speakers and Stiles knew that he was worried already, maybe Jackson spoke to Danny, maybe Lydia had a feeling about it – though Stiles _sincerely_ hoped she didn’t because that usually had a far more sinister result.

“We were right, you were a better choice than any of his other betas, can’t argue with his response time,” she said, ending the message options and putting his phone down on the table.

“Yeah well, I wish I’d been right about you when I told Scott I thought you were actually a half decent person,” Stiles snapped and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Scott hates me,” she said, pulling a very phony pouty face. “You don’t think I care about that, do you?”

“Guess not,” Stiles said, “but I know you care about Isaac.”

Her glare became venomous and he knew that Isaac would be the pressure point for her. He just didn’t know how much he could push it without ending up in a serious amount of pain.

She said nothing, she just slowly turned back to what she was doing up at the table and Stiles sighed, trying to adjust himself to get comfortable but he knew it was going to be a long night.

 

 

Derek was starting to feel the uneasy feeling in his stomach.

He pulled up in Stiles’ driveway, the sheriff’s car already there, but no jeep. He didn’t take that to be a good sign, but he didn’t give up either. He got out of the car and sighed as he walked up to the door, knocking three times.

He heard the squeaking of chair legs against the floor and then footsteps getting closer to the door until the sheriff opened up.

“Derek, how’re you doing?” he said.

“Fine sir, and yourself?”

“Not too bad, work takes its toll but nothing I can’t handle,” he said. “Stiles isn’t here if you were wondering.”

Derek felt his insides twist a little and he nodded, knowing that he couldn’t jump to conclusions and worry the sheriff before he needed to.

“No, he left my place a few hours ago,” he said. “I think he went to see Scott.”

“As long as he’s getting some study in, finals are coming up in a few weeks and he needs to keep his GPA up.”

“I think they work on their math together,” Derek said and the sheriff nodded.

“Good, good,” he said. “So, why are you here if not to see Stiles?”

Derek froze for a second because he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Uh…” he said and the sheriff chuckled a little and nodded.

“Stiles asked you to check on me, didn’t he?” Derek said nothing and the sheriff shook his head. “He thinks I’m going to be stuffing my face full of curly fries when he’s not here to steal them from me, doesn’t he?”

Derek smiled a little, “Yeah, you caught me.”

The sheriff rolled his eyes and a fond look crossed his face for a moment.

“Do you want to come in? I’m not having curly fries but there’s plenty of Chinese.”

“Sure,” Derek said, stepping inside and taking his phone out to text Scott.

_Find him._

He couldn’t do much more yet; all he could do was keep the sheriff distracted before they had to tell him. They had to find Stiles, and quickly.

 

 

It was a while later that Lydia got a call from Isaac, asking her if she’d heard from Stiles. Of course she hadn’t, but she promised she’d call the moment she did.

Boyd and Erica were also on alert.

Scott waited at his place to see if Stiles showed up, Isaac had the loft, and Derek, after having dinner with the sheriff and driving his car down the street, snuck in through Stiles’ window, waiting in his room in case he turned up late.

Jackson and Allison were out driving, looking for the jeep and hopefully Stiles too. Even Peter agreed to call if he heard anything, but none of them were helpful.

Isaac had found Karissa’s number but she wasn’t answering, it was going straight to voicemail. He didn’t even know if she was still using it but he had to try.

“Karissa? It’s Isaac, listen I know you left for a good reason but we need to know more about the bond you said would exist between Stiles and Scott… we think Stiles is missing. Please, if you can tell us anything that would be―” the recorder cut out and Isaac sighed.

How could _Stiles_ of all people just disappear without a trace?

As Allison drove Jackson had his eyes sharply trained on the road and the surrounds, and she had a theory as to what could have happened.

“Maybe he found something,” she said and Jackson took his eyes off the road for a moment to give her a questioning look.

“Found what kind of something?” he asked.

“We were looking through old records, families of hunters,” she said. “What if he found something and did something incredibly _Stiles_?”

“You mean something incredibly stupid?” Jackson said with a stoic face.

“No,” she rolled her eyes. “I mean what if he was following up a lead and it got him…” Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Taken, kidnapped.”

“You think something worse has happened?”

“What’s worse that being kidnapped by the people who are hunting you?” she asked and then put her hand up to stop him from answering. “Don’t answer that.”

He sighed, going back to staring out the window. “If he did find something and then go off to check it out, why wouldn’t he say anything about it to anyone?”

Allison shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe he did.”

“Well not to any of us,” he grumbled.

“No,” she said, giving him a look out of the corner of her eye. “Maybe we should contact the twins.”

Jackson scoffed and gave her a look, “He wouldn’t call one of _them_ before he called one of us. He’d call _me_ before he called them.”

“Maybe, but it couldn’t hurt,” she said.

“He wouldn’t call them,” Jackson said.

“Well if he found something why would he tell _no one_? Why would they take _Stiles_?!”

“Because he’s screwing the alpha!” Jackson said and the two of them just sighed.

After a few moments of silence Allison spoke up. “So what if that’s the reason he’s gone? To target Derek?”

“Then there’s probably two possible options here,” he said. “One, they took him to hold him ransom so Derek will trade his life for Stiles, or…”

“Or they’ll kill him to draw Derek out,” Allison said.

“Yeah I was trying _not_ to point out that grim fact,” Jackson said.

“Well we were both thinking it,” she said. “We just have to find a way to do something about it.”

 

 

Stiles’ stomach groaned loudly and he heard his phone vibrating on the table again. It had been going off virtually all night, only now he could tell that it was nearly midnight.

“If you’re going to hold me here, possibly before killing me, maybe you can bring in a TV, throw me a book or something,” he said and Cassie rolled her eyes again.

“I can get out my Taser,” she said.

“You can, but will you?” he asked. “I don’t know if you have it in you to torture me.”

She turned around to face him, crossing her leg over her knee and folding her arms. “You think I do this all the time? Just sit around and watch the things we catch?” she asked. “You think I haven’t cut through flesh and made them bleed?”

“Maybe not, but I don’t think you could do those things to someone you know,” he said.

“We don’t know each other that well Stiles,” she said.

“Then what about Isaac?” he said.

This time she stood up, taking the Taser off the table and turning it on as she walked over to him, crouching by his side.

“Why did you come looking for me earlier Stiles?” she asked quietly. “You knew what I was involved in, so why?”

“I didn’t come looking for you,” he said. “I came looking for my dad, I had to tell him he was working beside a _criminal_.”

“Your dad’s human, why would he be on my radar?” she asked.

“ _I’m_ human and you’ve got me chained up in a freaking warehouse!” he hissed.

“Yes, but you’re the one dating an alpha werewolf,” she said.

“He hasn’t given me the bite,” Stiles said. “Isn’t there something in your code about kidnapping humans?”

She raised an eyebrow, charging up the Taser and holding it close to his neck. “Maybe he hasn’t had the chance to sink his fangs into you yet, but unless someone else is giving you these love bites, you’re the key to the alpha’s heart.”

“It’s not his heart you want,” he said.

She shrugged. “Not the way you’ve got it anyway.”

He shook his head, turning it away from her.

“So why didn’t you confide in the alpha?” she asked. “Why not let him deal with us instead of your father?”

“Because…” he started, letting out a small sigh. “I wanted to be sure.”

“Why?”

“I wanted him to arrest you, do background checks and figure this out, lock you two psychos up without…”

“Without what?” she said through gritted teeth.

“If it wasn’t true, if it was just a coincidence… I didn’t want Isaac to get hurt.”

He saw her flinch and swallow, her nostrils flaring a little.

“Do you think I want Isaac hurt? Do you think I wanted to come here and find my best― my _oldest_ friend mixed up with a pack of _monsters_?” she hissed, and Stiles saw it in her glassy eyes, something that he couldn’t believe was still there.

Hope.

She didn’t know that Isaac wasn’t human, or maybe she just still hoped he was. Either way, she didn’t want him to be a part of the pack, she wanted him to be like Stiles, involved but not included.

“Does Cal know about the video?” he asked cautiously.

She let out an angry grunt and gave him a small shock to the shoulder, making him yelp and writhe as the electricity stung him. As she stood up and stared down at him the door began to open and Cal walked through.

“He mouthing off to you?” he asked, slipping out of his jacket and tossing it over the back of a chair.

“Not really, he just won't stop using his mouth,” she said, walking over to him.

He grabbed her roughly by the waist, pulling her in for a kiss before pushing her back.

Stiles’ phone buzzed again and Cal looked over at it. “Someone seems to be missing you,” he sneered.

Stiles said nothing, this guy was the unknown, and while Cassie had shocked him with the Taser, what this guy might do was probably worse.

“Who is it this time? Is it the alpha?” he asked, his lip still curled. “Or is it your friend with the lopsided jaw? Maybe it’s the pretty blonde with the great rack, too bad she’s part dog.”

“Her name is Erica,” Stiles said.

“What does it matter?” he said. “Well I suppose you need something to carve into her tombstone.”

“If you’re going to use me to get to Derek, or _Scott_ , why don’t you do it already?” Stiles said.

He shrugged. “We’ve got to make them sweat, right? Besides, we need more than just you to make this work.”

He lifted his shirt a little, taking a dagger out of his holster and handing it to Cassie.

“You know what to do,” he said.

She nodded and took it, giving Stiles a quick glance before walking past him to the corner of the room that was out of his vision.

His stomach growled again and he sighed, an ache beginning to form from the lack of food. Cal just smiled a little, walking over to the boxes near the door and taking out a laptop and some vials.

They seemed to be filled with blood.

One thing was certain; he was going to go hungry tonight.

 

 

When the next morning came around and no one had heard from Stiles they knew that they would have to tell someone about it, and that someone was the sheriff.

They had school to go to but none of them really wanted to be there, not when Stiles was in danger.

They all sat in their classes, hoping that maybe he would walk in through the doors but he didn’t, not even after the bell. Not even after the first two periods.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Scott said, standing at the edge of the school’s boundaries at lunch. “We should be out looking for him.”

“I agree,” Erica said, folding her arms and standing by Scott’s side.

“It’ll be suspicious if we all leave, besides, Derek has to wait until after school to tell the sheriff anyway,” Isaac said. “Otherwise he’s going to know we lied about him being at your house.”

“ _I_ didn’t lie, _Derek_ lied,” Scott said.

“It doesn’t matter if he lied or you lied, we’re all involved and you don’t have to like it but when the sheriff calls you later you _do_ have to tell him that you thought Stiles was still at Derek’s place,” Isaac said.

“He’s right,” Erica said and Scott just looked at her.

“I’m sorry, whose side are you on here?”

“ _Stiles’_ side,” she said with a firm gaze.

Scott sighed. “This all got too complicated too soon,” he said.

“How about I leave with Erica?” Boyd offered and they looked over at him. “We have a free period anyway, we can skip the other one and look.”

“Where else is there to look?” Scott said. “He just disappeared into thin air!”

“Well what else can we do Scott?” Isaac said.

“We could tell the sheriff,” Erica said, looking from one to the other.

“Tell him what exactly?” Isaac asked.

“Everything,” she said.

“No, we can't,” Scott said, shaking his head. “It’s not our place to tell him.”

“People are getting murdered,” Erica said. “Strung up and pinned to trees with their throats slashed, he has no idea why. We do, we have at least that, but for all he knows it’s some psycho abducting random people and killing them. Maybe if he knows what we suspect, that Stiles was taken to get to Derek because he’s the alpha, then he can have a little more hope.”

They were silent for a moment before Isaac looked tentatively towards Scott.

“She has a point,” he said.

“We can’t tell him,” Scott said.

“Why not?” Boyd asked.

“Because Stiles wasn’t ready to tell him! My mom took so long to adjust to it all… how can we tell him that his son is missing _and_ that there are werewolves and hunters and all kinds of other creatures out there?”

“Well doesn’t he have a right to know what the hell he’s getting involved in?” Isaac said.

“Okay, alright, stop!” Erica said. “We don’t tell him, instead we use the information he can find as the sheriff to our advantage.”

“Let’s head off now then,” Boyd said and Erica nodded.

The two of them gave Scott and Isaac a smile as they headed off the grounds to see if they could figure anything out.

“He’s going to be okay, we’ll find him,” Isaac said, putting his arm around Scott’s shoulders.

“I really hope you’re right,” he said.

“Do you think we should go with Derek to talk to Stiles’ dad?”

Scott nodded a little, “Maybe, I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Isaac cupped his jaw with his hand and leant in for a kiss, his thumb stroking his cheek.

“We will find him,” he said softly. “He’s going to be fine.”


	43. Chapter Forty-Three

By morning the next day Stiles was starving.

He hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before, thinking he would just go home to dinner. Cassie and Cal had left him alone from the early hours, he had been slipping in and out of sleep all night.

Just before midday they returned, Cal taking out his knife and heading to the same corner as the night before. Stiles had tried to see what they were doing but he couldn’t quite strain his head that way.

Cassie had stopped to look at Stiles for a moment, walking around the table and reaching into her bag. She pulled out a protein bar and tossed it over to him without saying a word.

He grabbed it and tore into the packet. Normally he probably would have turned his nose up at it but right in that moment it was a five star meal.

Cassie walked over to one of the boxes and pulled out some unopened packages. Stiles watched as she unwrapped them and began sorting their contents. They appeared to be bullets, possibly some kind of herbs as well, no doubt that they weren’t werewolf-friendly.

After a while Cal came back in, wiping his hands on a red smeared rag. He looked over at Stiles and tossed the cloth over to Cassie, folding his arms as he titled his head.

“I think it’s time we got to know each other a little better,” he said.

“You’re only saying that because you want something from me,” Stiles said sarcastically and Cal laughed.

“You’re a funny guy Stiles, what kind of a name is _Stiles_ anyway?”

“He’s pretty secretive about his first name,” Cassie said without looking up and Cal glared at her for a moment.

“It’s a nickname,” he said and Cal shrugged.

“So, _Stiles_ ,” he said, “What exactly do you know about us?”

“Not a lot,” he said.

Cal smiled a little, crouching down beside him and narrowing his eyes. “What I asked, was what you knew, not what you don’t,” he said before his fist was colliding with Stiles’ jaw.

Cassie’s head snapped up at Stiles’ cry and her hands stilled as she watched the two of them.

He recoiled quickly, wincing in pain and spitting a little blood onto the concrete beside him as his chained hands reached up to hold his aching jaw.

“So let’s try again,” Cal said calmly. “What do you, and all of your little canine friends know about us?”

Stiles looked up at him and sighed, his jaw still throbbing. “They don’t know who you are, they know there’s at least two of you, and that you’re hunting super natural species,” he said. “I’m the only one who knows that it’s you two doing it.”

“You haven’t told them yet? You don’t want to lie to me,” Cal said.

“No, I was on my way to tell my dad when you knocked me out and stole my jeep, where is the jeep by the way?” Stiles asked and Cal grinned.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said. “What do you know about us?”

“I just told you,” he said.

Cassie was staring intently at him and his eyes darted to her for a moment, unsure if her look was one of anger or fear.

“Listen Stiles,” Cal said, leaning in a little closer. “This can go one of two ways, you can tell me the truth from the start or I can get something far more fun to hit you with instead of my fist.”

“I know you were connected to a hunter in Colorado, Professor Stancliff,” he said. “I know, I’m _guessing_ , that he taught you how to hunt werewolves, gave you some kind of beastiary, maybe just gave you the basics.”

Cassie had put her packages down and was slowly standing up.

“And how exactly do you know about us?” Cal asked carefully and Stiles’ eyes darted to Cassie again. “Don’t look at her, look at me,” he snapped.

“I just put the pieces together,” he lied.

Cal’s lip turned up in a snarl before he was reaching for a spare chain on the floor and using it to pin Stiles’ throat to the pillar behind him. Stiles’ sputtered and tried to pull Cal’s arms away but he was too strong and he used his foot to hold down the chains that bound Stiles’ hands.

“Don’t lie to me,” he growled.

“Cal…” Cassie said from behind him.

Stiles tried to suck air in but with every second that he said nothing Cal tightened the chain against him.

“Give me the truth Stiles!”

“Cal!” Cassie said louder.

“You really think you can fool me with your bullshit?”

“Cal… Cal he’s human! Stop!” she shouted.

“The… _the reports_ …” Stiles choked out.

Cal released the restriction on his throat and stood up, taking a step back.

“What reports?” he barked.

He let Stiles cough and gasp for a moment before he had at least enough breath to speak.

“There’s a USB on my keychain,” he said, his voice breaking. “I was taking them to my dad.”

Cal turned on his heel and stormed over to the desk, taking the laptop and searching the surface for the keys to the jeep.

Stiles dry retched a few times before looking up to see the glowering look on Cal’s face as he connected the device and Cassie staring over at him. As they locked eyes he slowly regained his breath.

Cal looked over the documents, the rage boiling in his eyes as he read through them.

“Where did you get this?” he said without looking up.

Stiles didn’t want to say anything about Danny, he dragged him into this and he didn’t want him to be targeted because of it. They might not go after him, but he was better leaving him out no matter what.

“I was curious as to why the files were blocked,” he said. “I got into the code and broke the cypher.”

As he finished speaking Stiles heard the video file begin to play. Cassie’s chest was rising and falling in rapid succession as she looked over Cal’s shoulder from a few steps away.

The reporter in the video began talking about the student who found the body and Stiles heard the familiar voice from across the room in the computer speakers.

“ _You don’t understand! This was them! This was those monsters_!”

Cal looked up slowly turning to look at Cassie.

“You told me you took care of this,” he said calmly.

“I did,” she said, her voice quieter and more insecure than last time she spoke. “I covered my tracks like you said.”

“Then how was he able to break the code?” he said, squaring his body up to her.

“I don’t know, I made sure it wasn’t visible, I broke all the links to―” her sentence was cut short as the back of his hand made contact with her cheek with a loud slap.

Stiles flinched and Cassie put a hand to her cheek before Cal was balling up her shirt in his hands and slamming her back into a wall hard enough for her head to clack against it.

“If they’d have found this earlier they could have _completely_ ruined our plan!” he snarled, his lips inches from her face. “When I ask you to do a job I expect you to do it and do it properly!”

He tossed her to the side and she fell to the floor, staying down until Cal had stepped over her and stormed towards the door.

“Stay here and do something _fucking_ useful,” he said before he slammed the door.

Stiles just stared at Cassie as she stood up from the floor.

She didn’t even turn towards him before she went back to sorting the items from her packages.

 

 

The ride to the station was a quiet one.

Isaac and Scott sat in the back of the Camaro while Derek drove to see Stiles’ father to tell him that his son had disappeared. None of them said a word, Isaac just linked his fingers in with Scott’s, stroking his wrist with his thumb to try and calm him down.

He could hear his heart beating fast and he knew that he just wanted to get this over with and get onto figuring this out. Every minute not spent looking for Stiles was a minute too many and they knew this was probably not going to be easy.

As they pulled into the parking lot at the sheriff’s station Derek sighed loudly, staring up at the building for a moment before he opened the door to get out.

“What do you think he’ll say?” Isaac asked quietly as they followed him up to the building.

“Nothing good,” Scott said.

When they walked through the doors the receptionist looked up and recognised Scott and the worried look on his face.

“Are you three here to see Sheriff Stilinski?” she asked.

Scott nodded. “If he’s not busy we―”

“Even if is,” Isaac cut in, looking over at the other two. “I mean, we really need to see him.”

She looked to each of them before nodding and picking up her phone, dialling the sheriff’s extension number.

“Hello, yes, good afternoon sheriff, listen, I have three very nervous looking boys out here who want to speak to you… no, he’s not one of them, I― yes, no problem,” she hung up the phone and looked up at them again. “He’ll be out in a second.”

“Thank you,” Isaac said.

Not long after, the sheriff walked around the corner with a smile. “What can I do for you boys?” he asked. “Where’s Stiles?”

Scott and Isaac gave one another a glance and the sheriff narrowed his eyes a little, slightly confused.

“Boys?”

“Do you mind if we take this to your office?” Derek asked and the sheriff folded his arms.

“What’s going on, why are the three of you here? Where is Stiles?”

Apparently the quick succession of asking questions was genetic.

“We really think this would be a better conversation to have in private,” Scott said and they all heard the sheriff’s heartbeat rise impossibly quickly.

He huffed out a sigh and just turned around, motioning for them to follow. The second they were within the confines of his four walls he asked the question again.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do here but you need to tell me exactly what’s going on, _now_ ,” he said firmly.

“It’s Stiles,” Derek said. “We can’t find him.”

The sheriff leaned in a little as if he hadn’t heard him. “He – what? What do you mean you can't find him?”

“He’s missing,” Derek said. “He didn’t show up to school today.”

“I thought he stayed at your house last night,” he said, looking over to Scott who swallowed hard.

“I thought he was staying at Derek’s, I mean, that’s the last place I saw him go,” he said, thinking after that maybe he should have sounded a little less like he was naming Derek as a suspect.

“You told me last night that he was there,” the sheriff said, pointing his finger at Derek who remained surprisingly collected.

“I assumed that was where he was going, he was supposed to have a math quiz this week, I thought they were going to study.”

“So you’re telling me that _my_ _son_ has been missing all night and you’re only just coming to tell me _now_?” he said, his face flushing red with worry and anger.

“Well we didn’t know until he didn’t show up for school, and then he would answer his phone,” Isaac said.

“I mean we can't be sure,” Scott said.

“We’re sure,” Derek said, turning to glare at Scott. “I’ve been looking for the last hour but I don’t know―”

“I knew I should have been calling him more, making him stay home on a school night,” the sheriff said to himself, running a hand through his thinning hair.

“You can’t put this on yourself,” Derek said.

“Oh, I’m not,” he said, giving Derek an accusatory glare.

“Believe me, I blame myself too,” Derek said and Scott and Isaac exchanged another glance.

“I just want to know why all these sinister things have started happening to Stiles ever since you’ve come into the picture,” he said and Scott shook his head.

“You can’t blame Derek,” he said. “This isn’t Derek’s fault.”

“Are you sure about that?” Derek said, turning to give Scott a look.

“What’s really going on here?” the sheriff said. “Is he involved in something? Are you kids on drugs?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Isaac said. “We just…”

He tried to think of some explanation that wasn’t ‘we’re unlucky’ or ‘we’re werewolves’ but he wasn’t having any luck

The sheriff put his hand up to silence him. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, taking his intercom radio off his belt. “I want any available officers looking for a blue jeep, licence plate 6-Q-G-M-3-8-7, I want it found.”

There was a quick reply and then he looked up at the three of them.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on here but if I find out this has something to do with his relationship with you…” he said as he stared over at Derek.

“I understand,” Derek said. “We’ll find him.”

The sheriff sighed a little, both of them knew he was lashing out because he was worried. Sometimes it was easier if you had someone to blame.

He rushed past them heading out to look himself, he couldn’t officially be missing yet, but that wasn’t going to stop any of them from looking for him.

 

 

The room had been silent for hours now.

Stiles hadn’t bothered to say anything, he didn’t know what to say and even if he thought of something, his throat was still burning and his head was pounding. Not to mention he had a bruised jaw and a cut on the inside of his cheek.

He felt a little dizzy, his head spinning and his body still craving food. He had more than burned through that protein bar and the water was long gone.

He had thought about asking for some but the mood was tense and the air was worse. The whole place felt like a knife’s edge, it felt like one wrong word could end up in a blood-bath.

Cassie was standing at the table, writing something down and double checking the products that she had been organising hours before. It must have been close to night fall but there weren’t any windows so Stiles couldn’t be sure.

All he knew was that Cal had been gone for what seemed like hours.

Stiles looked up at Cassie, her bottom lip clearly a little swollen and one side of her face also a little so, still red around her eye and cheekbone. Cal’s punch had been painful, he can only imagine his slap would have been equally so.

He heard the door begin to open and saw Cassie’s hands drop the small box she was holding before picking it up again, and Cal walked in, dropping his bag with a loud thud by the door.

He walked slowly over to Cassie, his hands finding her waist and his nose nuzzling into her hair. He lifted one hand to pull her hair behind her ear.

“You know I don’t want to hurt you,” he cooed. “Sometimes you just make me angry.”

Stiles felt like he shouldn’t be watching, like somehow he had just stepped into something that he shouldn’t be privy to.

She nodded slowly and he turned his head away as one of Cal’s hands slipped around her waist and pulled her back into him. She seemed to look over at Stiles for a moment before looking back at the ground while his lips found her bare neck.

“Cal,” she said softly.

He ignored her, turning her quickly to pin her back to the table with his body as his mouth continued to ravish her neck. She pushed a little at his chest, her eyes darting to Stiles again who was very obviously turning away.

Cal grabbed her wrist and pulled back to look at her. His eyes wandered over to Stiles and he scoffed.

“What, you’re afraid he’s going to see?” She didn’t answer and he smirked. “Fine.”

He stepped back trying to pull her with him.

“Wait,” she said. “Maybe I should―”

“Maybe you should what?” he asked and she just looked at him a moment before shaking her head.

He grinned, his hand still latched onto her wrist as they walked out of the room, the door still wide open.

Stiles closed his eyes, trying not to listen as the noise came through from the other room. He tried not to hear it but he knew that the place echoed and as much as he wished he couldn’t hear what was happening, he could, and it made him feel sick.

He put his hands behind his head, pulling his knees up to rest his forehead on as he felt the chains cold against the back of his neck. For a moment he thought about his father, wondered whether he was out looking yet, or whether the pack had managed to keep him at bay long enough to try and find him.

He wondered if they’d talked to Danny, if he’d shown them the files he’d decoded. He’d probably have to go back through his history to find them but maybe he would realise that the thing he had found was connected to Stiles’ disappearance.

His mind wandered to Derek, no doubt blaming himself for it all, like he always did. He wished he could just talk to him, tell him he was alive. He wished more than anything that he could tell him that this wasn’t his fault, even if he was the alpha.

He thought of Isaac next, but then his ears seemed to pick up more of the noise from the other room and he knew he had to stop because he couldn’t, he just couldn’t listen to it.

He thought of Scott, and how he would be worried sick, his mind flashing back to the night he was turned and no doubt hating Peter more than ever before.

Then he thought of Lydia and wondered if she knew what was happening to him. Somehow she played a role in it all.

Eventually they would figure it out but for the moment all they knew was that she was … _something_.

It was a half an hour later when Cassie walked back in through the doors. Her shirt was a little torn and she was carrying a bottle of water.

She walked over to Stiles and put it down beside him.

As he looked up at her they locked eyes and she gave him a cold stare.

“Keep your mouth shut,” she said firmly and he dropped his gaze, taking the bottle and having a quiet sip as she walked away.

He did just that.

 

 

Peter came to meet the pack at the loft that night, trying to figure something out.

He brought with him all the footage from the cameras outside the old residence of the other pack, which Erica and Boyd offered to stay up and watch.

When Lydia walked in with Jackson she had given him a look, her gaze soon slipping to Derek. All three had the same thought and she just shook her head.

She couldn’t tell them anything, she hadn’t felt anything else, nothing had come to her, nothing more than moving those pieces around on the table.

Allison wondered if maybe Stiles had found something in his research that was enough to make him the target, Isaac and Scott were breaking into Stiles’ bedroom to look for the files he had taken. It was too bad the ones they needed were still in the back seat of the jeep.

Derek was noticeably agitated, pacing about the loft when he wasn’t speaking, and even when he was. He was frustrated with it all and the idea of not finding him, or being too late made everything inside him twist into knots.

They needed to find something to use against the hunters and all he could think of was to offer himself up as bait.

“That’s exactly what they want Derek,” Peter said. “They tried to kill you once, in the fire. Why should we give them that when you know they’ll just kill you, keep him, and start picking the rest of us off?”

Derek glared at him. “I’m not going to live with the fact that I wouldn’t give myself up and that resulted in Stiles getting killed.”

“You can't just walk out into the open and say ‘bring my boyfriend back and take me’,” Erica said. “This is one of the rare occasions where I have to side with _him_.”

“How do you know they haven’t taken either of those twins down already?” Peter said.

Jackson shook his head. “We would have heard something about it already.”

“Not necessarily,” Boyd said without looking up from the laptop screen.

“Well Lydia hasn’t found any bodies,” Jackson said.

She glared up at him and rolled her eyes. “Can we steer clear of that line of thought, please?”

“If they really are doing this to get to you then they’ll make contact,” Allison said. “You can't just wander out into the forest at any time and expect they’ll be waiting, now they have a hostage.”

“You think they’ll reach out,” Derek said, more as a statement than a question.

“They sent a message to Daisy supposedly from Katherine, what makes you think they won't do that for you? They need Stiles to be alive if they’re going to lure you in. My guess is a phone call,” she said.

“So we’re just supposed to wait?” he said.

“No, we do research, look for patterns in other cities, try to find out more about them before their _upper_ hand becomes the _only_ hand.”

“Isaac said Karissa isn’t answering,” Erica said after a few moments of silence. “Maybe they got her too.”

“Can we try not to be completely pessimistic?” Lydia said, chewing on her lip.

“If you think you know anything…” Derek said to Lydia and she nodded.

“You will be the first one I call Derek,” she said.

He sighed and Peter took the computer off Erica and Boyd to start looking for trends in disappearances and even murders. Derek wasn’t going to sleep until they had some kind of answer.

Allison drove Lydia home and the two of tried to bounce ideas off one another.

As Jackson drove home he thought about what Peter had said about the twins. Danny would have told him if anything had happen, unless he didn’t know. His frustration grew the more he thought about it.

He grunted to himself as he took out his phone and dialled Danny’s number. He picked up after a few rings.

“Hey Jackson, you haven’t called in a while,” he said.

“Yeah Danny, I know, but can we please deal with that shit later? I need to ask you something.”

“Okay, what’s going on?” he said, sounding a little concerned.

“You heard from your boyfriend recently?”

“Why? You’re not going to hunt him down and interrogate him again like at that disaster of a double date are you?”

“Danny, this is important.”

Danny sighed. “I heard from him yesterday. I thought he had just disappeared but he showed up trying to talk it out, which is more than I can say for you.”

Jackson huffed loudly. “Danny, I know, I’ve been a piece of shit friend but can we _please_ forget about this for like half a second?”

“Okay, what’s wrong Jackson? You’re in more of a mood than usual,” Danny said, definitely sounding concerned this time.

“I don’t really want to get you involved,” he said.

“Does this have something to do with those files Stiles got me to unlock?”

Jackson almost thought he misheard him. “I’m sorry, what? Stiles? You saw Stiles? When?”

“… Yesterday, about the same time Ethan came over… why?” he said.

“We haven’t seen Stiles since yesterday morning.”

“What? Are you saying that I’m the last one who saw him?”

“What files Danny? What did he get you to unlock?” Jackson said urgently.

“Uh, some police document, and a video relating to a murder in Denver, Jackson, what’s happening, can I do something?”

“You just did Danny boy,” he said. “Look, I’ll call you when I can, I have to go.”

“Jackson don’t―” he hung up before Danny could finish and dialled Lydia’s number.

“Come on, come on, _Lydia pick up_ ,” he said impatiently.

Lydia and Allison had been in the middle of a conversation about possible strategies they could make when her phone started ringing.

She took the phone out and looked at the caller ID, furrowing her brow. “It’s Jackson,” she said.

“Well answer it,” Allison said.

“Jackson?” she said.

“Danny saw him, yesterday afternoon he saw him,” he said quickly.

“Slow down, saw who? Stiles?”

“Yes Stiles, who else would I be talking about?”

“Don’t snap at me just… speak!” she said.

“Stiles wanted him to unlock some files, he said something about murder files,” he said.

Allison could hear Jackson’s voice through the speakers. “He found something in the research,” she said, taking her eyes off the road for a second to look at Lydia.

“He might have something we can―” his voice cut out and the phone line went dead after a loud smashing sound and painful screech, probably tyres.

“Jackson!” Lydia said, “ _Jackson_!”

“What happened?” Allison asked, “Lydia?”

She just looked up with a terrified look on her face as the phone screen went dark.

All Jackson had seen was the windscreen shattering before he swerved, the wheels clipping a fallen branch on the side of the road before the car careened off the road and head on into a tree.

The airbag deployed but the front of the car was crumpled and Jackson lost consciousness as the headlights flashed, the only other car on the road slowing beside the wrecked Porsche.

The driver climbed out, gloved and in possession of a set of metal cutters. He forced the door open and managed to drag Jackson out, dowsing him in wolfsbane before pulling him to the car and throwing him into the back.

He left the wreck on the road for someone else to find and drove off to somewhere far better suited to holding werewolves.


	44. Chapter Forty-Four

It wasn’t long after Cassie had given Stiles more water that the two were preparing for something, and by the looks of it, something big.

They were dressed in all black, their faces masked and Cal had a big bag slung over his shoulder. They had also set up a spot next to Stiles with more chains so it was likely that he wouldn’t be alone when they got back.

It seemed like hours that they were gone. Stiles had finished his water and he was craving food again. His hip ached and his jaw hurt when he moved it, his throat had settled down a little after the water but he could still feel where the chain had been, nipping at his skin and crushing his throat.

He tried to break the chains, he knew it was a hopeless struggle but he had to try. Tears stung his eyes as his frustration boiled over. He’d never once been able to sit still and this alone was torture.

When he heard a door being opened somewhere on the other side of the building he felt hopeful for a moment that maybe they’d found him, maybe Scott or Derek or his father would walk through the door and unchain him. He lost it all the second he saw Cassie walk through, her hair damp and her boots dirty as she walked over to pull back the chains.

Stiles felt sick to his stomach and watched as Cal dragged someone into the room, dropping him beside Stiles. It was Jackson.

“Move those chains,” he said and Cassie pulled them away further while Cal shoved Jackson further back.

Cassie pulled out a black lock and as they chained up his hands, locking him to the wall. Once that was done she took out a little packet of mountain ash, spreading it in a circle around him.

Once it was done Cal headed straight out and Cassie walked over to the table, reaching into her bag and throwing another protein bar at Stiles.

He almost said thanks, instead he tried something else.

“So Cal seems like a nice guy,” he said and she narrowed her eyes, walking slowly over to him.

“What has Isaac told you?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What has Isaac told you about me?” she said, slower this time.

“What about you?”

“Don’t make me take that bar off you,” she said.

“He said you’re his old friend, he said you guys were close, really close, he said you kissed him after the frat party in Denver,” he said.

She gave him a smile, her nostrils flaring. “Anything else?”

His brow furrowed as he looked up at her. “ _Is_ there anything else?”

Her eyes clouded over before she turned and walked away.

“No,” she said coldly and Stiles just sighed, hoping that someone knew Jackson was missing too.

He shifted a little, everything aching painfully as he watched Jackson stir a little. He was covered in blood and his clothes were tatty and dirty – not a look that he would ever be happy with.

Cassie was sitting at the table, Stiles couldn’t quite see what she was doing but her fingers were ghosting over the bruise on her cheek as she looked down at something on the table.

Jackson’s chains rustled as he pushed himself off the ground, groaning loudly.

“What the _fuck_ …” he said as he propped himself up on his hip and looked down at his chains.

His eyes moved to the circle of mountain ash and his groan became a growl. As he looked up and around he noticed Stiles sitting there and paused, eyeing him closely.

“Dude… You look like shit,” he said dryly and Stiles scoffed.

He didn’t realise how much he’d missed people until he started to appreciate Jackson and his inappropriate humour.

“Speak for yourself,” he croaked, his voice still not quite right.

“You alright?” he asked, genuine concern lacing his voice.

Stiles nodded, “Yeah, I’m not too bad, little sore, but not bad.”

Jackson nodded, looking up at Cassie. He recognised her, but not well enough to know where from.

“She the only one who took us?” he asked.

Stiles shook his head. “There’s a guy too.”

“Why does she look familiar?” he said quietly.

“That would be Isaac’s friend Cassie,” Stiles said with a sigh. “She came to a couple of parties, went with me, Isaac, and Erica to Denver and then murdered a few Maeve’s, a werewolf or two and decided hey, maybe I’ll just start kidnapping them too.”

Cassie turned to look over at him, rolling her eyes as she did.

“Do I need to get the Taser out again?” she said sweetly.

“You’re going to be sorry when Derek finds us,” Jackson growled. “If you have the time to be before he tears you apart.”

“I’m terrified,” she said ironically, turning back to the table.

“Don’t,” Stiles said and Jackson gave him an incredulous look.

“I’m sorry, are you saying don’t threaten our _kidnapper_?”

“It doesn’t help and believe me, it’ll hurt both of us if she snaps and decides to get the Taser out,” he said.

Jackson’s eyes dropped to the bruising on Stiles’ neck and cheek, the dried blood on his clothes. He knew that he could heal from almost anything they did to him, but from the looks of it they weren’t afraid to hurt Stiles if they needed to, and he didn’t need to be responsible for that.

“So where’d they get you?” Stiles asked.

Jackson shrugged a little. “I was driving… I don’t know exactly what happened. I think I blacked out.”

“Yeah well you’re covered in blood so how’d that happen?” Stiles asked.

“Well, either they made me crash or they sabotaged my car,” Jackson groaned.

“Oh shit, the Porsche?”

“Yes, the Porsche,” Jackson grunted.

“Dude that sucks, I know what you’re feeling man,” he said.

“Oh you know how I’m feeling?”

“Hey, they kidnapped me and threw me into the boot of my jeep, I don’t know if they dumped it in a lake or whether it’s sitting out the front of this place,” he said.

“Dude,” Jackson said sympathetically.

“And I thought just _one_ of you was ridiculous,” Cassie said, getting up and staring over at them. “They’re cars, and only one of you is ever going to see theirs again.”

“I can't decide whether she was threatening to kill _me_ or letting you know that your jeep is still breathing,” Jackson said.

“Why choose when it could be both?” she said with a smile before heading out of the room.

“She’d be hot if she wasn’t a fucking psycho,” Jackson muttered.

Stiles chuckled a little. “So does anyone know you’re gone?”

Jackson sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe, I remember I was going to call Lydia… but I can't remember if I did or not. I know I called Danny but I just hung up after he told me he’d talked to you.”

“Keep your voice down!” Stiles hissed, speaking his next words only loud enough for Jackson to hear. “I told them it was me who unlocked all the hacker code, I didn’t want to get Danny involved.”

Jackson nodded, “Thanks.”

“Why would you call Lydia first? Why not Derek?” Stiles asked.

“Because Lydia’s the one I call,” he said as he narrowed his eyes. “Besides, she’s reasonably level headed, she won't go over there and threaten him until he tells her everything that happened the last time he saw you.”

“Okay, alright!” Stiles said, sighing again. “He’ll know soon enough anyway.”

“You just _disappeared_ you know,” Jackson said. “I don’t know where these guys did their training but they’re good at hiding a trail.”

“Not good enough,” Stiles said quietly. “I’m pretty sure they started in Denver.”

“You can tell me that story later,” Jackson said. “I’m guessing we’re going to be here for a while.”

Stiles nodded. “Well, if they don’t know you’re missing, they will soon.”

 

 

“Lydia? Lydia _calm down_ ,” Allison said as Lydia’s breathing got more and more erratic.

“His phone’s going straight to voicemail, he’s not picking up!” she said.

They had pulled over on the side of the road and Allison was trying to get a logical thought out of her.

“Lydia just stop, stop calling him and call Derek instead,” she said. “I’ll start driving towards Jackson’s house.”

Lydia nodded and dialled Derek’s number as Allison turned the car around.

“What’s happened?” Derek said, picking up almost instantly.

“It’s Jackson,” she said. “He called me to tell me that Danny spoke to Stiles the day he disappeared and as he started telling me what he knew, the phone cut out.”

“What do you mean it _cut out_?” Derek asked.

“I mean there was a smashing sound and then the line went dead, _something’s wrong_.”

“Where are you?”

“We’re on our way to Jackson’s place, it’s where he was heading.”

“I’m leaving now,” Derek said before hanging up the phone.

It wasn’t long before Allison and Lydia were turning onto the road that Jackson had been on, both of them letting out a loud gasp when they saw his car smoking on the side of the road, the headlights still on and flickering.

As they pulled over Allison reached into the back and took out her bow and arrow before letting Lydia get out. Lydia ran over to the wreck and looked inside, the door wasn’t quite shut and all the glass in the front three windows was shattered.

She looked down to see blood on the no longer perfect interior, and smears that looked like Jackson had been pulled from the wreck and dragged up to the road, and then the blood trail ended. She saw the skid marks from Jackson’s tyres but no sign of another vehicle or an animal that could have crossed his path. She knew that this couldn’t have been an accident, not with Stiles going missing too.

“Whoever did this isn’t here anymore,” Allison said, taking down her bow. “Should we call someone?”

“Like who, the police? What are we going to say? ‘Hello my teenage werewolf boyfriend has probably been kidnapped along with the alpha’s _human_ boyfriend?’” she said.

“I know you’re freaking out, but we’re going to find them,” Allison said.

“How?” Lydia said breathlessly, looking at Allison like what she’d just said was impossible. “They have killed or wounded everyone else involved, what makes you think they won't do the same this time?”

“They haven’t killed a human yet, their tactics have changed,” Allison said. “If they’re anything like us, they’ll have a code.”

“So what does that mean for Jackson?” Lydia asked and Allison sighed, giving her a hard look.

“We’ll find them, both of them, _alive_ ,” she said.

It wasn’t long before Derek arrived, climbing out of the Camaro without even bothering to close the door behind him. He walked straight over to the wreck and crouched down before it.

He had a dark scowl on his face, and it didn’t take a supernatural creature to notice the anger that was just radiating from him.

He stared at the car, inspecting bits and pieces before standing slowly and turning to Allison and Lydia.

“Has anyone else come down this road?” he asked.

They shook their heads. “It’s not a widely used road, he comes this way so he can be an _idiot_ in his car,” Lydia said.

“He should have stuck to the main roads,” Derek growled.

“I’m sorry, but I think the fact that this _isn’t_ a common road proves that he was being watched before any of this happened,” Allison said.

Derek turned back to look at the car. “The door was cut open, someone was waiting for this and forcibly removed him.”

“So what are we going to do?” Allison asked. “Right now all we’re doing is waiting for them to come and grab someone else.”

“We’re going to call the sheriff,” he said. “Then we’re going to find _anything_ that we can link to their disappearances.”

“Danny,” Lydia said, looking up with wide eyes. “Before the phone cut out Jackson said that Danny saw Stiles before he was taken.”

“Call the sheriff,” Derek said, turning to walk to his car.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to see Danny right _now_?” Allison said.

“We don’t have time to waste anymore,” he said.

“You’re not in the most stable mood Derek,” she said. “Let one of us come with you, or at lease call someone like Scott to go with you.”

“If I just leave now you’ll call him won’t you?” Derek said, pausing in his tracks for a moment.

“Danny doesn’t know about any of this, he’s not a part of it and you look like you’re ready to tear something off the bone,” Allison said firmly.

“Call him then,” he said through gritted teeth before getting back into his car.

“He looks pissed, really pissed,” Allison said and Lydia looked up at her with an incredulous glare.

“Wouldn’t _you_ be?” she said.

“I know, I know!” she said with a groan. “I better call Scott.”

She took out her phone and started to dial as Lydia put hers to her ear on the line to the sheriff’s station.

“Allison?” Scott’s voice rang through the receiver.

“Scott, where are you?” she said quickly.

“I’m breaking into Stiles’ bedroom, we’re looking for something new he might have found in the files―”

“You need to get to Danny’s place, _now_ ,” she said.

“What’s wrong?”

“Jackson’s gone,” she said. “His car is crashed on the side of the road and it looks like someone had to cut him out of it. There’s blood…”

“What? When?”

“Just now, look I need you to get to Danny’s place. Before Jackson crashed he called us, he said something about Danny decoding some files and now Derek’s on his way to talk to him and you can probably guess that he’s―”

“He’s going to do something stupid isn’t he?” Scott said.

“Just go and try to stop him from scaring the shit out of Danny,” she said.

“Okay, Isaac’s still here looking through the files.”

“I’ll come and help him when the sheriff gets here, I don’t want to leave Lydia on her own but I might be able to pin point the one you need, I was the one who looked through them with Stiles first.”

“Okay, I’ll leave now,” he said. “Allison, are you okay?”

She sighed. “When these monsters are caught, I will be.”

They hung up and she walked back to Lydia who was just staring at the Porsche.

“Are they coming?” Allison asked.

She nodded. “Said they’ll be here in under five minutes.”

Allison walked around to face her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “He’s going to be fine, he’s a werewolf, remember?”

Lydia looked up at her, “So was Katherine, and she was an alpha.”

“You need to tell the sheriff everything you can think of, okay?”

“Including the fact you just reminded me of?” she raised an eyebrow.

“No, not that.”

“Ge’s going to have to find sooner or later,” she said.

“I know, I just hope Stiles gets the chance to explain this shit-show for himself.”

“What happened to ‘we’ll find both of them _alive_ ’?” Lydia asked and Allison just gave her a look.

 

Scott sighed as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and Isaac just stood staring at him.

“They took Jackson?” he asked, his expression fuelled by his concern.

“Derek’s going over to Danny’s house, apparently he―”

“Yeah, I heard, go, or he’s going to do something he regrets,” he said.

Scott sighed, running a hand through his hair and exhaling in a shaky breath. Isaac looked over to him, reaching out to pull him into his arms.

“We’ll find them, okay? Whatever it takes,” he whispered, kissing Scott’s forehead before letting him go. The glassy look in his eye was breaking his heart. “You should go, I’ll keep looking while Allison’s on her way.”

Scott grabbed Isaac by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a kiss before he was heading back out the window.

“One of us is going to get arrested one day,” he mumbled to himself, sinking down onto the bed and lying back as he felt the emotional exhaustion creeping in.

Scott headed over to Danny’s place as fast as he could, he was closer than Derek but Derek was driving, and probably a little faster than he should have been. By the time he was turning up outside Danny’s house he could see Derek staring at the door.

“Derek! Don’t!” he called.

Derek spun around, his breathing heavy and Scott could see a faint red glow in his eyes.

“You have to calm down!” he said.

“We don’t have time for that,” he growled.

“I know you want to find Stiles, so do I, but if you go in there like this you’re going to show him exactly what you are!” he said.

“We need to talk to him, _now_ , before someone else goes missing,” he said.

“So let _me_ talk to him,” Scott said and Derek’s nostrils flared before gesturing to the door and they both made their way up the path.

It was only a moment after they knocked that Danny opened the door, giving the two of them a strange look.

“Uh… hi, what are you guys doing here? It’s a little late,” he said.

“We know you talked to Stiles the day he went missing,” Scott said abruptly.

Danny folded his arms and leant against the door frame. “Jackson told you guys already?”

“Jackson―” Derek began but Scott cut him off.

“We think something happened to him too,” he said. “His car crashed around the corner from his house.”

“Shit, what the hell is going on? Is this because of the things Stiles had me look up?” he asked, looking from Scott to Derek.

“No, I mean, we don’t know, we just need you to show us what it was so we can try to figure this out,” Scott said.

“Don’t you think we should go to the sheriff’s station instead? If they’re missing then what are―”

“Show us what you found for him,” Derek said and Scott looked over at him slowly, sensing his waning patience.

“I… I don’t have it,” he said. “What happened to Jackson?”

“We don’t know yet, we think―” Scott began.

“Why don’t you have it?” Derek said through his teeth.

Danny looked up at him, he seemed almost wary of what Derek might do. “I deleted all evidence of it off my computer.”

“Why would you do that?” Derek said.

“It was sealed information, I don’t know how much trouble I might get in if anyone found that I accessed information about a murder. It’s gone, I cleaned everything,” he said.

“What do you remember then?” Derek asked.

“Look Danny, if you can remember anything it might help us to figure out where they are,” Scott said, in a far more neutral tone than Derek.

“I didn’t read any of it, all I know is that he was trying to find out about the murder of some professor in Colorado,” he said. “They were the headlines.”

“Where did he go once he left here?” Derek asked.

“I… I―”

“Where did he go?” Derek said with more edge, stepping closer to Danny and Scott put his arm across his chest.

“Derek!” he said.

“He said he went to go see his dad!” Danny said, taking a step back.

Derek pulled himself away and began walking quickly back to his car.

“Sorry Danny, we have to go!” Scott said, turning to follow Derek.

“Hey, let me know if I can help at all,” he called and Scott nodded. “And tell me when you know anything else about Jackson!”

“Okay, I’m sorry!” he yelled back, racing to get into Derek’s car before he could drive off.

He swung in through the passenger door just as Derek was staring up.

“You can’t do that to people!” Scott yelled, pulling on his seat belt. “You looked like you were about to kill him!”

“Two people are missing and everyone else who went missing turned up dead,” Derek said, pulling out and onto the road. “I’m not going to take my time with small talk.”

Scott sighed. “Are we going to the station?”

“The sheriff won't be there, he’ll be on his way to Jackson’s car,” Derek said, turning a sharp corner a little too quickly.

It wasn’t that far from Danny’s house, and at the speed Derek was travelling it was even quicker. They parked just outside and climbed out of the car.

“Look carefully, use all your senses,” Derek said, his eyes glowing as he walked up to the building.

Scott started to scan the parking lot, fine-tuning his senses to anything that could have been left by Stiles. His father worked there; there were traces of him at the station all the time, but not blood.

Scott honed in on a few small flecks on the pavement, crouching down to get closer.

“Derek!” he called, and he was by his side in an instant.

“It’s his?” he said, staring down at the tiny spot on the ground.

“Was he followed here do you think?” Scott asked, looking up.

“Maybe, it’s more likely they were already coming after him and knew he’d be here at some point, just like Jackson,” he said.

“So what? They don’t know about how he unlocked the files?” Scott asked.

“The better question is why didn’t he call one of us when he knew?” Derek said with a grunt.

“If he was coming here maybe he was going to tell his dad, maybe he thought he could do more than we could.”

“He doesn’t know about any of this, why would he be able to solve this?” Derek snapped.

Scott sighed again before standing up straight. “I don’t know,” he said quietly.

Derek growled, storming over to the side of the parking lot and yelled loudly as he slammed his fist into a tree, a loud crunch echoing in the quiet air. He pulled his hand back and flexed it, the broken bones healing themselves quickly.

The frustration was overwhelming, he felt like he had tried so much and yet he knew there was nothing more that he could do until the kidnappers made contact. They were somehow barring their scent and masking it from their sensitive noses and it was as if he was blind.

Stiles was missing, they assumed it was to lure Derek in but he hasn’t received any phone calls. Now Jackson was gone too, and he was a werewolf so who knew whether these people would keep him alive or whether they wouldn’t even bother to do so.

“Have you slept at all since―”

“What do you think?” Derek snapped as Scott tried to speak.

“I think you’re not doing anyone any favours by being like this Derek!” he snapped back.

Derek sighed, turning back to look at him. “I’ll take you home, I want you to find the twins. Make sure they lay low, hide their tracks. Find out if they know what happened to Daisy, and if you hear anything or find any new information about Stiles or Jackson or who might have them.”

He headed back to the car and it was obvious to Scott that he was in pain, that he was struggling with everything. It couldn’t be easy being the alpha and feeling so helpless. He knew how much it hurt to think of Stiles and what he might be going through, it could only be worse for Derek, the bond between them making the ache of the distance stronger.

Scott knew that until they had something to go on Derek would be inconsolable.

It wasn’t just about Stiles anymore, it was the ache of the alpha for his missing pack.

They drove the distance to Scott’s house in silence. Derek wasn’t a talking person at the best of times, let alone now. It wasn’t until they made it to the verge that Derek even made a sound.

“Boyd and Erica are staying at the loft, Allison is going to stay with Lydia, I mean it, this time everyone stays together,” he said.

“Isaac’s coming over here, I think Allison’s going to drop him off,” he said.

“I’ll keep you updated,” he said and Scott took that as his way of saying ‘get out of the car’.

He got out and headed inside, rubbing his temples as he did so. Almost as soon as he’d shut the door Melissa was coming in from the kitchen to greet him.

“Hey honey, any news on Stiles?” she asked, holding her tea with both hands.

He shook his head, “Nothing.”

Her shoulders dropped and she sighed.

“Jackson’s missing too,” he said and Melissa’s eyes shot wide open.

“What, he disappeared tonight? I thought you said he was―”

“They found his car crashed… I don’t know what we can do about this mom,” he said.

She put her cup down and walked over to him, pulling him into her arms with a tight squeeze.

“If there’s anything I’ve learnt in the past year, it’s that you guys are so much more capable than you give yourselves credit for,” she said, feeling him nod his head against her shoulder. “You have to promise me you’ll take care of yourself too Scott. I know you want to help people, to save them, but I need to know you’re going to be safe.”

“No one’s safe mom, that’s the whole problem,” he mumbled.

She pulled back and put her hands on either side of his face. “You can get through this, you kids are smart, you’ll find the answer.”

“I know,” he said and she leant in to kiss his cheek.

“I’m going to go finish some paperwork, if you need me, just ask.”

“Thanks mom,” she gave him a smile as she headed back into the kitchen and he just sighed, sitting down on the bottom step to send a message to Isaac.

God he hoped she was right about all of it.

 

 

Jackson was already restless, pulling and tugging at the chains to no avail. Even if he could break them, he was still going to be stuck in a circle of mountain ash and Stiles was too far away to break it.

After his latest attempt to break his chains he sat panting, his breath coming out in sharp snarls.

“Don’t waste your energy,” Stiles said. “Believe me, it won't do you any good.”

“I can’t just sit here and do _nothing_ ,” he snapped.

“Hey, trust me, I know, okay? I hate sitting still for five minutes, let alone hours on end,” he said.

“Hey now, no need to turn on each other,” Cassie’s voice rang out in the room as she walked in. “If you’re that hard up for entertainment I can get Cal to bring his gun.”

“You’re going to be dead when they find us you _psychotic bitch_!” Jackson spat and Cassie just huffed out a sigh as she looked down at him.

“You know, I told Cal we should have taken the girl but for some reason he thought it would be _fun_ to go after you instead.”

“What? Erica? You think she would hold back from telling you what she thought of you? Doesn’t take a genius to see what you are,” he growled and Cassie just shook her head at him slowly.

“You’re going to wear yourself out if you keep struggling like that, but by all means, keep trying. You might be able to break the chains but that tiny line of black powder is going to have you stumped,” she said.

“Is this how it’s going to go?” Stiles asked. “You’re just going to keep collecting us and throwing out words until Derek surrenders?”

“He’s not going to back down,” Jackson said.

“Well now that you mention it, I was actually about to make a very important phone call,” she said, walking over to the table and picking up Stiles’ phone.

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked.

“Just how much do you think Scott is willing to do to save your life?” she asked and Cal appeared in the doorway.

“I’d say he’d offer up a trade,” he said, grinning as he walked over to stand near him.

Jackson eyed him carefully, the first time he’d managed to get a look at the second member of their little initiative.

“Maybe I should give him a call,” she said, reaching onto the table to grab another little device, hooking it around her ear and turning it on. “A little adjustment first,” she said in a scrambled voice as her words ran through the voice changer.

She unlocked Stiles’ phone and began searching through his contacts to find Scott and Jackson just looked at him.

“You should really invest in a screen lock,” he said.

“Yeah, somehow I think that this is the _worst possible time_ for you to bring that up,” Stiles hissed.

Cassie put the phone to her ear to check for the tone before putting the phone on speaker, waiting only a few rings before he answered.

Scott was still sitting on the stairs, the phone by his side when it started to ring. He picked it up and checked the caller ID, his heart racing the instant he saw Stiles’ name.

“Stiles? Stiles is that you?” he asked desperately, the voice on the other line far from that of his best friend.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Cassie said, her voice unrecognisable. “Stiles can’t come to the phone right now.”

“What do you want? Where is he?” Scott said quietly, trying to avoid his mother hearing.

“I think the question is, what do you want, and how badly?”

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“How much is Stiles worth to you?” she said. “What are you willing to do for him to be freed?”

“I’ll do anything you want just don’t hurt him, he’s not part of this,” he said.

“If you want him back then you’ll do exactly what we ask.”

“How do I know you haven’t hurt him already, where is he?”

Cassie chuckled a little. “He’s alive, and for a little proof…” she held the phone out and looked over at Stiles. “Speak.”

Stiles just started back at her silently as Cal crouched down beside him.

“I said speak!” she said.

“Stiles? Stiles are you there? Are you alright?” Scott’s voice came through and Stiles sighed because even through the grainy phone line he could hear how worried he was.

“Scott, I’m here buddy,” he said. “Currently in one piece.”

“What do you want from me?” Scott asked. “What do you want, I’ll do it!”

“Tell no one that we have spoken, come alone to the forest, we’ll send you the coordinates, and we’ll let him go,” she said.

“No, Scott, no don’t do it they’ll―” Stiles was cut off with a sharp blow to the stomach from Cal, making him couch and splutter as he doubled over.

“If I do it,” Scott said slowly, his fear for Stiles’ life only getting worse. “If I do it you won’t hurt him anymore?”

“That’s our deal,” she said. “But, if you break any of the conditions, you and the rest of your pack will never see him again.”

Scott closed his eyes tightly, he knew the deal. It was his life for Stiles’.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

“Scott don’t be an―” Jackson yelled before Cal was pulling a dagger out of his leg holster and burying it deep in his thigh.

He yelled out in pain and Cassie flinched at the movement.

“You have half an hour, the coordinates will be sent shortly,” and with that, she hung up the phone.

Scott’s heart was beating fast and he knew he had no time to think, knew he had no time to do anything and even if he wanted to, what choices did he have left? He couldn’t tell anyone or they might do something to Stiles. He couldn’t risk that.

A moment later his phone beeped with a message and GPS coordinates which he plugged into maps. The place was quite, away from tracks in the forest, and too far from the loft for anyone to hear.

He stood up and walked towards the door just as Melissa walked in.

“Are you okay?” she asked as she looked over at him. “Was that a call about Stiles?”

“Uh… no, not really,” he lied. “Isaac wants help with some information we were trying to figure out earlier, I’m going to meet him at Derek’s place.”

“It’s late Scott, and is it really safe to be going out now? After everything?” she asked.

“We need to do what we can to find Stiles, and Jackson,” he said. “I can’t wait, I have to go.”

He opened the door and headed out, Melissa walking to the door to watch him go but he was on foot and he was fast.

“Scott!” she called, but he was already gone.

 

Cassie hung up the phone and Cal pulled his dagger out of Jackson’s leg, wiping the blood off on his cargo pants.

“Better go freshen up,” he said before walking out, grabbing the keys that were on one of the boxes.

“Poor Scott,” Cassie said, spitting his name like it left a bad taste in her mouth. “He so badly wants to do good that he can't even realise he’s going to die for nothing.”

“If you touch him I swear I’ll―” Stiles started.

“You’ll what? Rattle your chains some more?” she said as she shook her head.

The phone in her hand made a little noise and she looked down at it.

“I suppose in true hostage fashion you should get your one phone call,” she said.

“I think that’s jail,” Jackson said dryly.

“There’s only two per cent battery anyway so you should probably make it quick,” she said, handing him his phone and ignoring Jackson’s comment as she followed Cal out the door.

“You got enough time for a call?” Jackson asked.

“Only if I make it quick,” Stiles said, looking for Derek’s number and hitting the dial button.

 

 

Allison dropped Isaac off outside Scott’s house and he walked up to the door slowly, the entire day had been a nightmare. He watched her drive off as he knocked on the door, and only a moment later Melissa answered, her brow furrowing when she saw Isaac standing there.

“Isaac?” she said. “What are you doing here?”

He was just as taken aback, unsure as to why she looked so confused. “I, uh… to see Scott? Derek thinks it would be best if we all stick together tonight after what happened to Jackson.”

Her expression turned from confusion to panic and Isaac could just smell the fear radiating off her.

“What, what is it? Why do you look like that?” he asked.

“Scott got a phone call about ten minutes ago,” she said. “He said you needed help with something and then he… he left.”

Isaac’s blood ran cold. “He what? He just _left_?”

“Isaac tell me he’s not going to do something stupid,” she said.

Isaac lifted his nose to the air, Scott’s scent strong. “You know him, he’ll do anything if he thinks he can save one of his friends.”

She clapped a hand to her mouth and muttered a quiet ‘oh my god’.

Isaac just stepped off the porch, making sure he had a lock on Scott’s scent trail.

“I’ll find him Mrs McCall, don’t worry, I’ll find him!” he yelled as he sped up, following the trail as fast as his legs would let him.

 

 

Derek’s eyes were numb with fatigue.

He hadn’t slept in far too long, and it was unlikely that he was getting any in the coming hours. He stood at the bench in his kitchen, Erica and Boyd sitting together on the couch trying to come up with any explanation for all of this.

His phone rang in his pocket and he feared the worst as he fished it out. As he read Stiles’ name on the screen it was like all the air was sucked out of his body in an instant. He didn’t know if it was going to be him or not, so he just pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear.

“Derek? Are you there?”

The wave of emotion that crashed over him as he heard his lover’s voice was almost too much to bear. His knees buckled a little and he sucked in a quick breath as Erica and Boyd turned to look over at him.

“Stiles, _Stiles_ , where are you?” Derek said.

“I… I don’t know, listen, I don’t have a lot of time―”

“You’re not hurt? If they touched even―”

“I’m okay, I’m okay for now,” he said. “Please Derek, you need to listen to me.”

“Alright,” he choked, silencing himself to hear what he had to say.

“They’ve got me and Jackson chained up, in a warehouse maybe, I can’t tell, I’ve only seen the inside. We’re fine, but they’ll hurt us if that’s what it takes to get attention,” he said. “Derek they called Scott, they told him to meet them in the forest somewhere, I don’t know, they’re sending him the details and I know they were cagey so that I couldn’t tell you and my phone only has like thirty seconds of battery left…” he had to stop to catch his breath and as Derek listened to it his chest began to ache. “They said they’d kill me if he told anyone and free me if he did what they asked but they’re lying, they’re going to kill him and then keep me to torment you.

“You have to find him, you have to _stop_ him, there’s got to be another way,” Stiles said, a tear rolling down his cheek.

Derek’s eyes were firmly shut, his fingers tightened around the phone. “I will do everything I can to make sure you get out of there alive, both of you, _all_ of you.”

“Derek, I love you,” he said and Jackson looked away from him, closing his eyes and leaning back.

“Don’t do that Stiles, don’t say your goodbyes,” he whispered.

“Say it Derek, I need to hear you say it,” he said, holding back a sob.

“I’m not going to let you do that like you’ve given up Stiles,” Derek said, holding back his own tears. “Where can I find them? Give me something I can use to help.”

“Tell my dad I love him, okay? You need to tell him that it’s the girl who’s―” the line went dead and Derek’s breathing got faster as he realised that it was the last piece of communication they were going to get.

“Stiles? No, no _Stiles_!” he yelled.

His emotion finally took over and he let out a wailing howl as he threw his phone across the room, smashing it against the wall and making Erica and Boyd leap back.

“Call Scott,” he said in a snarl. “Call him now.”


	45. Chapter Forty-Five

Stiles and Jackson sat quietly in the room, both of them tired and in pain after god knows how long waiting for Cassie and Cal to come back. In reality it had only been about twenty-five minutes but their sense of time was beyond a mess right now.

“You think they’re going to kill him?” Jackson asked.

“Only if… only if Derek doesn’t stop them,” Stiles said.

“Or maybe he’ll just get killed too,” Jackson said.

“You’re just a ball of sunshine aren’t you?”

“Sorry I think I left my optimism back at the loft,” he said.

“Yeah well let’s hope Derek picked it up,” Stiles muttered.

“Is that a joke? At least you haven’t lost your sense of humour,” he sighed.

Stiles closed his eyes again, trying to contain his tears as he thought about what might be happening and the fact that he was sitting there useless.

“Hey Jackson?” he said and Jackson looked up at him.

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favour, look over into that corner and tell me what you see,” he said.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?” he asked as he craned his neck and tried to get as high as he could.

“Just… what do you see?”

He focussed his eyes and used his nose to fill in the gaps. “It’s a body.”

“Alive?”

“Just… I can hear her heart beating anyway,” he said.

“It’s Daisy, right? It’s her,” Stiles asked, almost already sure.

“I think so, smells like her,” Jackson said. “It’s faint but I recognise it.”

Stiles sighed, the ache in his chest throbbing, not just from his bruises.

“We need a plan,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll yell at them and you throw sarcasm their way,” Jackson said.

“I don’t know, you see pretty good at the sarcasm.”

“Alright, okay, fine. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Cassie, the girl,” Stiles began. “I’m almost entirely sure that she’s in love with Isaac.”

“Why?” Jackson asked.

“Why what? Why do I think that or why is she in love with him?”

“… both.”

“You’re an idiot, would you just listen to me?” Stiles snapped.

“You think you’re the only one who uses sarcasm as a defence mechanism?” Jackson snapped back.

“Okay, we have to stop arguing, alright? I know the situation isn’t doing either of our moods any favours but take this seriously for _one fucking minute_ ,” Stiles said.

Jackson sighed. “She loves him, huh?”

“I think so, I mean I already sort of suspected that but all this quality time I’ve spent with her has made it even clearer.”

“So what, you want to use that to manipulate her?” Jackson asked.

“Well, no… but maybe…” Stiles said.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I get the impression that she gets manipulated a lot, and the other guy, Cal, he’s a real jerk―”

“I’m sorry, are you sympathising with the kidnapper? _Again_?”

“Maybe I am, you haven’t seen everything, okay? I don’t want to tear her down but I think she is our best shot at getting out of here alive,” he said. “I’m not even sure she knows Isaac’s a werewolf.”

“Yeah well it’s not exactly something you go around telling everyone,” Jackson said.

“So does that mean―”

“No,” Jackson said, cutting him off and looking over at him.

“You don’t even know what I was going to―”

“I haven’t told Danny and right now I don’t want to either,” he said.

Stiles nodded, “Right, why not?”

“Stiles, why do you think _you’r_ e here?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “You’re human, if you weren’t involved with werewolves you wouldn’t be here.”

“I know, but I also know that he’s getting sick and tired of feeling like you’re lying to him.”

“This is getting a little too personal for a hostage situation.”

“What else are we going to talk about?” Stiles asked.

“How about you get some sleep and I’ll wake you us when I hear them coming back,” he said.

Stiles sighed. He could tell that Jackson was trying to be considerate, that he could obviously see how tired he was. Stiles knew that he was covered in bruises, he could feel them on his skin, he didn’t need to see them.

As much of an ass as Jackson was, Stiles could see the concern on his face and knew that his bruises must have been worse than he first thought.

“I don’t think I can sleep. Even if I could, it’d be uncomfortable and restless and my ass is asleep as it is,” he said and Jackson managed to crack a smile.

“Fucking warehouse flooring, you’d think they could have at least got a couple of chairs in here,” he said.

Stiles smiled. “Maybe a couch, a mini-bar,” he shrugged.

“Could do with a flat-screen,” Jackson said and Stiles actually managed to laugh before realising that it hurt his sides to do so.

“Do you think Scott’s going to be okay?” Stiles asked and this time it was Jackson’s turn to sigh.

“I might not be an optimist, and I _hate_ admitting that McCall is good at anything… but if anyone can figure out how to make this go his way, it’s probably him.”

“This is probably the only time I’m ever going to hope you’re right,” Stiles said, changing his position.

Sadly it did nothing to quell the twisting of knots in his stomach.

 

Erica tapped her foot loudly as she dialled the number for Isaac’s phone.

“Pick up you idiot,” she said and Boyd just gave her a look as he tried to scoop up what was left of Derek’s.

“You know that doesn’t help,” he said.

“Well it doesn’t hurt anyone,” she snapped.

“What?” Erica jumped as Isaac’s voice came through the line.

“ _Where the hell are you_?” she hissed.

“I’m going to find Scott,” he said.

“Isaac, don’t. They’re going to kill you both!” she said.

“You think I’m just going to let him die out there?”

“You’re both idiots!” she yelled. “Stiles just called.”

“What? He did? What did he―”

“That they’re _going to kill Scott_ ,” she said. “If you go, they’ll kill you too.”

“Not if I can stop him first,” he said before hanging up the phone.

Erica snarled, holding her phone so tightly in her hand that Boyd was afraid she was either going to crush it or throw it against a wall just like Derek had.

“If either of those two _monumental idiots_ make it out of this alive I am going to _strangle_ them both,” she said.

“You need to keep a level head,” Boyd said. “We can’t have both you and Derek losing your minds.”

“I haven’t lost my mind,” Derek said, walking down the stairs. “Did you call Scott?”

“He’s not answering. I got Isaac but he’s just going after him,” Erica said.

Derek’s nostrils flared and his knuckles cracked as he squeezed them tightly together.

“I got a message from Allison,” Boyd said. “She said she knows what it was that Stiles found, she just needs Danny to unlock them again. She only has a physical copy.”

“How does she know it’s the right one?” Derek asked.

“Because it’s the same one he kept going back to,” he said. “She said it was a report about the death of a professor in Denver.”

“That has to be it, you said Danny told you the files he unlocked were from Colorado,” Erica said.

Derek nodded. “If they can do it safely tell her and Lydia to do it now.”

Boyd nodded in agreement and Erica folded her arms. “So what now? Are we going to help Scott?”

Derek sighed. “There’s nothing we can do, we don’t know where he was going. Our best bet is to find the files, figure out who’s doing this, and track them down.”

“So what we have to wait all night before we do anything?” she said.

“What choice do we have? We find the hunters we find the rest of them,” Derek said.

“What if they kill Scott and Isaac?” Erica said.

“What if we go out there and die as well?” Boyd said.

Erica sighed. “Are we ever going to have a quiet year?”

“We find out what we can from Allison and Lydia, we see if they make contact with any of us, otherwise we’re going looking at dawn,” Derek said.

 

 

Allison already had the papers in her bag when she got to Lydia’s, she had intended on staying there anyway and had come straight from dropping Isaac off at Scott’s. It wasn’t long after getting to Lydia’s that Boyd sent her a message explaining what had happened.

Danny agreed to come over, Lydia told him that if he could help it might bring them one step closer to finding Stiles and Jackson.

“You know he’s going to ask why we’re trying to solve this and not the police, right?” Allison said as they sat in the front room waiting.

“He said the sheriff called him already to ask him what he knew, if there was anyone out to get Jackson or Stiles. He said they asked if this could be someone from a rival lacrosse team gone too far,” Lydia said with a sigh.

“He’s really grasping at anything he can get, isn’t he?” Allison said.

“His son’s gone, his only son, I think you would be too,” she said.

“Did you call Jackson’s parents?”

Lydia nodded. “Right after I got here, they’d already left me a few messages.”

“What did you say?”

“I cried and promised I would call if I heard anything,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Me?” Allison asked. “Why wouldn’t I be, aside from the obvious?”

“They’re your friends too, and I _know_ your dad doesn’t approve of you spending time with them.”

“He’s coming around,” she said.

It wasn’t much longer before Danny was at the door. He and Lydia embraced for a minute before she was leading him into the study.

“So you think this has something to do with―” he started to say as Allison took out the papers.

“No time for that Danny,” Lydia said, giving him two pats on the back. “We’re just trying to connect some dots.”

“You know, I do know how to keep a secret, if this is some shit you need kept quiet you know I can help,” he said as he looked up the information on the computer. “I don’t know what you guys have gotten yourselves into and I know Jackson likes to think he can handle anything, but you know…”

“Thanks Danny,” Allison said.

He opened some of the news files, using the information in the document to retrace the records. He spent a while looking through the code on the page, sitting back in the chair after a few moments scanning through the lines.

“That’s interesting,” he said.

“What is it?” Lydia asked, even with her mathematical brain computer coding was beyond her.

“When I did this for Stiles I just wanted to get him out so I could talk to Ethan so I didn’t even notice…”

“Didn’t notice what?” Allison asked, staring at the lines and trying to see something that might be vaguely ‘interesting’.

“I thought this would have been censored because of the cops or the feds were working on the case but this here…” he pointed to a few lines in the middle of the page. “These aren’t blocks from law enforcement or the government, these were put in here by someone like me. Someone hacked in to hide this stuff.”

“So someone out there wanted to keep this hidden?” Lydia asked.

“Clearly they found it important enough to do so,” Allison added.

“The article said that it was probably an animal attack, do you think there was something in here that maybe suggested otherwise to someone who knew the guy?” Danny asked.

“Maybe… can you still find everything you got for Stiles?” Allison asked.

“Yeah, it’s all here. Give me a minute…” he said as he typed quickly and Allison gave Lydia a look.

Lydia smiled weakly, her fingers tapping on the back of the chair as she impatiently waited.

After a few moments a few new windows popped up and Danny sat back to let the girls give it a look over.

“It’s a police report,” Lydia said. “Isn’t this basically what we know already?”

“No, something here _has_ to be different,” Allison said.

“The way he ran out of my house made it seem like he had something really important,” Danny said.

“He kept coming back to this, it’s definitely got something to do with this guy but he’s _dead_. Does it say anything about the guys family―” Allison asked.

“Not his family…” Lydia said, pointing to a line in the report. “His student…”

Allison read the name and it took a moment to realise where she recognised it from. “Oh my god!” she said.

“Where do I know that name?” Lydia asked as she looked up and Allison already had her phone in her hand.

“Get all of that stuff and put it on a thumb drive, or email it to me, something,” she said. “You’re a genius Danny.”

Allison put the phone to her ear and walked out of the room while Lydia just stared off after her. Danny sighed and looked up.

“I take it you don’t need anything else?” he asked.

“If we find out anything about Jackson I’ll let you know,” she said as he stood up and pulled her in for a hug.

“I get it, alright? You guys are involved in something and right now that seems way too dangerous to let me in on, but honestly I’m not going to judge,” he said.

Lydia nodded. “I know.”

He gave her hand a quick squeeze before he was heading out and she was beginning to wish she could just explain it all to him. Instead, she walked quickly into the other room to see Allison hanging up the phone.

“Would you like to explain this to me now?” she asked with folded arms.

“Cassidy Calhoun is that old friend of Isaac’s, the one they went to Denver with,” she said.

“Oh my god…” Lydia said, closing her eyes with a sigh.

“As if that wasn’t a big enough coincidence, I know for a fact that she was working at the sheriff’s station. I don’t know exactly what for, just that’s what Stiles told me.”

“So she had access to old files and records―”

“She had access to anything she could get her hands on,” Allison said. “She wouldn’t have been _legally_ allowed to look through a lot of stuff but it’s not like that matters much when you’re going around killing people.”

“You called Derek?” Lydia asked.

Allison nodded and sighed. “Erica knows a little, otherwise we have nothing. I don’t think he liked my idea about going to the sheriff.”

“Well how are we going to explain it to him?” Lydia said.

Allison sighed, “I don’t know, he’s just going to ask us how _we_ know she’s involved.”

“So we need to find a link,” Lydia said.

“Well who’s she working with?”

“I guess if we figure that out then maybe we can figure the rest out.”

 

 

“I can’t believe I didn’t put it together,” Erica growled through her teeth as she paced. “How could it have been so close and _we all_ missed it?”

“Erica,” Derek began but she was still pacing.

“I knew that little bitch was trouble, even if it was just because she was flirting a little too much with Isaac…”

“Erica,” Derek said again.

“How were you supposed to know that―” Boyd tried but she just snapped.

“Because I was the one who spent time with her, I should have been able to tell something!”

“ _Erica_!” Derek said loudly. “Don’t blame yourself.”

“People are dead Derek, if I had of just―”

“Sometimes people who do bad things do a very good job of hiding it,” he said. “You’re not the first one to be tricked by a hunter. You won’t be the last.”

They just looked at one another and Boyd hated to break up the heart-warming moment but other issues were weighing heavily.

“It’s not anyone’s fault that we missed this, but can we please focus on how we’re going to find them?” he said, handing Derek his phone. “I put your card in it seeing as everyone usually tries to call you.”

Derek took it a little sheepishly and shoved it in his pocket.

“Do you know anything about her?” Boyd asked.

She snarled a little, folding her arms over her chest. “No, she was either asking me questions or pumping the music when we drove back from Denver. I should have noticed that she was dodging my questions.”

“You had no reason to realise she was doing it on purpose,” Boyd said.

Erica just sighed. “How long since Stiles called?”

“Nearly a half hour I think,” he said.

“Isaac and Scott are both _idiots_ ,” she said, her face changing as she made a realisation. “Oh my god, they don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” Boyd asked and Derek looked over at the two of them.

“They don’t know that it’s Cassie,” she said.

Boyd tensed up and Derek knew that whatever way this went, it was going to get even more complicated.

 

 

Isaac ran through the streets, following Scott’s scent as fast as his nose and feet would allow him. He had to stop him.

There was no way these people would contact Scott before Derek and use Stiles as the bait unless their plan was to kill him.

He raced quickly, he could have been getting closer or Scott could have been moving away just as fast. Either way he had to find him, he _had_ to stop him.

“Scott!” he yelled, knowing that though it was a bad idea he might just hear him.

If he did, he stayed silent. Isaac knew he didn’t have much time and kept pushing forward.

He had tried to call him but it kept going to voicemail. He hadn’t even thought about what he was going to do if he caught him but he didn’t have a choice.

 

Scott had denied the calls from Isaac, and Erica, and anyone else who was trying to get hold of him. He knew exactly what they’d say.

He had a plan, and even if that meant he was in danger to give them all a better chance at getting out of this then so be it.

Besides, he still didn’t totally feel like a member of Derek’s pack, and he wasn’t bound under the alpha’s control. That’s what came from being bitten by a different alpha to the others.

He walked a little further into the woods until he heard the ping from his phone to let him know he’d reached his coordinates. After pressing a few quick buttons he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

His honed his senses in on his surroundings and it didn’t take long to realise that they were already there waiting for him.

He couldn’t smell them, but the air was still and there were no overt animal sounds nearby and that always meant that something had disturbed the quiet peace.

“I know you’re here,” he said slowly. “Where is Stiles?”

There was a little rustling in the trees before a figure in all black with a hood over their face dropped from a high branch of the tree, regaining their balance before holding a gun towards Scott.

“Where is he?” Scott growled.

“Oh Scott,” the voice came out scrambled, just like it had sounded on the phone. “Did you really think we’d let him go in exchange for you? He’ll be what links us to the alpha. You’re just a beta.”

“So why me then?” he asked. “If I’m _just a beta_ then why lure me out here?”

“Maybe you’re just an itch under my skin.”

Scott’s eyes narrowed a little in confusion. “Why?”

“Don’t ask questions,” the figure hissed. “Not that it really matters now anyway.”

“Can you at least promise me that Stiles and Jackson aren’t hurt?” Scott asked.

“They’re alive, I can’t promise they aren’t hurt,” the figure cocked the gun. “Anything else?”

“Why are you doing this?” Scott asked quietly and the figure tilted their head to the side.

“Creation, destruction, restoration,” they said.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that in order to restore the natural balance then things like _you_ must be destroyed!” Scott flinched a little and the hooded figure stepped a little closer. “Any last words?”

He sighed. “You can’t beat them. It doesn’t matter what you do or how many of us you take they aren’t going to stop fighting.”

“That all?”

“I’m not about to make this easy,” he said.

Scott had a hand behind his back, his claws extending slowly before he snarled. His eyes flashed and clearly the figure had noticed and anticipated the swing of his arm, trying to take a better aim with the gun as Scott swiped at the arm.

He barely clipped it and as the gun went off the bullet only just scraped Scott’s arm. He let out a loud growl as he managed to grab his assailant’s other arm before he was cracked in the nose with the barrel of the gun.

He shoved them back and they reached into a pocket and pulled out a blade, swinging it inches from Scott’s face before setting off the gun again, this time aiming for his leg and this time it was enough to pierce the skin and draw blood.

His leg gave way under him and he fell, the figure managing to slam their foot down into his chest and hold the knife to his throat before something caught Scott’s eye.

“No…” he said quietly and the figure had only enough time to turn their head before Isaac was slamming his shoulder into them, sending them flying into a nearby tree with a thud.

Isaac stood between them, his face sprouting hair and his eyes shining golden as he let out a thunderous roar.

The figure on the ground was frozen and seemed to be staring up at them. “Isaac?” the voice disguiser was damaged and the sound that came out was even more contorted than before.

Isaac snarled again, lurching forward as if to lunge at the figure before he was being propelled back by an arrow though his shoulder.

He cried out in pain before something small landed beside the two of them, flashing quickly before detonating in a cloud of smoke.

Isaac felt instantly dizzy and Scott was trying to pick himself off the ground to no avail. It worked fast and before either of them could make a move they were in a motionless heap on the ground.

Cal came jogging down to meet them, pulling back his hood and staring at them with his nostrils flaring.

Cassie was still on the ground, staring over with glassy eyes and a look of near horror on her face. She pulled the hood off slowly and took the disguiser away from her mouth with her shaking hands.

“No… no _Isaac_ …” she whispered.

“Go get the car,” Cal said coldly.

“No, no, how could this happen…” she said.

“Get, the car… now,” he said, turning to give her a sharp stare.

“He can’t be one of them, no, no he’s not―”

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you deluded yourself into thinking that your precious little Isaac wasn’t one of them?” he spat. “It’s about time you knew the truth.”

She looked away from where Isaac lay and up at Cal. “You knew,” she said.

“Of course I knew,” he said.

She pushed herself up and stared at him, a tear falling from her eye and the rage coming back to her.

“You knew and you let me believe he wasn’t―”

“You were never going to believe that your little prince was actually the big bad wolf,” he snapped. “Not until you saw it for yourself. This is the real world, and it bites back. Not get the car!”

She was breathing heavily but flinched at his words and ran in the direction of the car as Cal stared down at the two of them.

“Now the real fun begins.”

 

 

Erica and Boyd spent a few minutes arguing, Derek just sat back and shook his head. If he didn’t have to be strong for this he would have already broken down.

He was trying to listen to the two of them, hear their suggestions, but none of it was working.

When the phone in his pocket began to ring it was at his ear in almost an instant, Scott’s name flashing on the screen.

“Scott? Where are you?” he said, Erica and Boyd going silent immediately.

“ _I know you’re here_ ,” Derek looked up in confusion as Scott’s muffled voice came through the line. “ _Where is Stiles_?”

He pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker for the others to hear.

There was a little rustling before Scott was growling again, asking where Stiles was.

“What is he thinking?” Erica hissed as they listened in.

None of them answered, they just let the call play out, Derek motioning for Boyd to write down the three words that were mentioned. In a few short moments they heard the starts of a scuffle and then a gunshot.

There was a noise from Scott and more heavy movements before another gunshot went off and this time there was an even louder yelp before a thud and the line cut out.

“Why would he call now?” she asked.

“He was fishing for information,” Derek said, putting the phone in his pocket. “We’re going to his house, follow the scent and find him. If we’re lucky he’ll still be there.”

“And if we’re unlucky?” Boyd asked.

Derek looked up with a sigh. “He’ll still be there, just―”

“Please,” Erica said. “Please don’t give me an end to that sentence.”

Derek nodded and the three of them were heading out hoping there was still some luck on their side.


	46. Chapter Forty-Six

Stiles was dropping in and out of sleep, the lack of comfort making it impossible to get more than ten minutes of rest at a time.

Jackson was still keeping his ears honed in to any sounds in the hopes someone was coming for them. He watched over Stiles too, knowing that something had to be done soon because humans couldn’t put up with this sort of thing for too long, especially not when Cal was dishing out beatings the way he was.

Jackson noticed that Cassie was a little more lenient. She gave Stiles water, tossed him the occasional piece of food. Jackson, of course, had gotten nothing since arriving, and he didn’t expect that to change.

It had been almost an hour before he heard the sound of tyres pulling up nearby.

“Stiles,” he said as he tried to listen in.

“What?” he said sleepily, looking up with tired eyes.

“They’re back,” he said.

Stiles tried to sit up a little more, wincing in pain as he did and Jackson turned his head to the door.

It took a few minutes before Cal kicked through the doors, lugging a body over his shoulder and throwing it to the ground besides Jackson. As he chained it up and drew the line of mountain ash around it, Cassie walked in.

Her face was dirty and her eyes were unfocussed as she went and leant her hands on the table. Stiles thought she looked like she was going to be sick.

“Stay here while I get the other one,” Cal said, walking past her and back out the door.

“Scott?” Jackson said and Stiles’ heart thudded in his chest.

“He’s alive right, he is?” he said.

“They wouldn’t have chained him if he wasn’t,” Jackson said. “He’s breathing, just passed out.”

Stiles looked up at Cassie whose hands were clearly shaking. She was gritting her teeth and had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Without warning she let out a loud scream, followed by a few quiet sobs before she was pulling the knife out of her holster and throwing it across the room, thankfully in the opposite direction to the three of them.

Jackson and Stiles locked eyes for a moment before turning their attention back to her. She was breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring and her eyes red and glassy. Neither of them could tell whether she was seething with rage or heartbroken.

She started pacing, muttering to herself, like something had taken over her body and she was fighting to keep it inside. It was something they all knew too well, it was denial.

“No, no, _no_ …” she whispered. “No, _no_ …”

Jackson raised an eyebrow at Stiles who just watched her carefully until they heard Cal coming in with another body over his shoulder, throwing this one far more callously onto the ground than he had the last.

It was Isaac.

“Get the chains,” he barked at her and she looked up, strands of hair falling over her dirty face.

She gave him a glare but did it, grabbing what was left from the corner and walking slowly over to him, staring down at Isaac’s limp body before Cal was snatching them out of her hands.

Her face had softened as she looked down at him with sadness in her eyes and maybe even betrayal, more than anything she looked like a person who had lost something.

Cal tightened his chains, drawing his circle in his spot next to Scott before turning to look back at Cassie.

“You saw him for what he truly is tonight,” he said. “Maybe now he’ll stop blinding you to the bigger picture here.”

She said nothing, she just stood staring at Isaac and Cal shouldered past her, leaving the room without another word.

 

 

“Through here!” Boyd called as he walked through the trees with Erica and Derek close behind him.

“I’m going to _kill_ Isaac when we find them,” Erica said, her hair bouncing furiously on her shoulders. “No kind of love should make anyone _this stupid_.”

“It shouldn’t, but it does,” Derek said coming to a stop and sniffing the air around them. “Can you smell that?”

“It’s blood, right?” Boyd said.

Derek nodded.

“Scott’s?” Erica said, looking around and keeping her eyes sharp.

“It’s both of them,” Derek said.

“Tyre tracks,” Boyd said, crouching down to look at the trail marks that marred the grass and dirt.

“Looks like this is where they collapsed… or were shot down,” Erica said, picking up a bullet shell and holding it up. “So they took them?”

“Why would they do all this to get to you?” Boyd asked. “They went after the alphas, so why take them all just to get to you?”

Derek’s brow was furrowed as he took in the scene and he shook his head. “They didn’t plan this. They weren’t going to take either of them.”

“Derek, they took Stiles and Jackson why wouldn’t they―” Erica started.

“Because they called Scott, they didn’t call Isaac. This was about Scott.”

“Why Scott?” Boyd asked.

“It was her,” Erica said with a roll of her eyes. “It was all about _Scott_. She’s cares about Isaac and if she’s crazy enough to kidnap two teenagers and kill _god knows_ how many other supernatural creatures then who says she’s not crazy enough to go after Scott too? Because he’s dating Isaac.”

“She had to know Isaac would come after him,” Boyd said.

“Not necessarily,” Derek said.

“You think she didn’t know about him?” he said.

“Maybe not, sometimes we’re blind to things that we don’t want to see.”

“Look at you being all philosophical…” Erica muttered sarcastically. “What’s this?”

She reached down to pick up a small canister but Derek had her arm firmly in his grasp before she could touch it.

“Don’t touch that,” he said. “You see the powder? It looks like some kind of smoke grenade. Last thing we need is to knock ourselves out.”

“So what now?” Boyd asked, the look on his face one of exhaustion.

“The odds are they’re playing it by ear now, if what Erica said about the girl is true then she won’t kill Isaac, at least not right away. It gives us some time,” Derek said.

“Time to what? Get more of us kidnapped?” Erica said.

“We find out everything we can about the two of them,” he said. “In the morning we call Allison and Lydia and we get to the bottom of this. No one else gets taken.”

 

 

Jackson watched as Cassie paced the room, her eyes red and swollen and her lips muttering all but silently. She was breathing heavily and seemed to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown and it made him all the more wary.

“They have to know, right?” he asked Stiles.

“Know what?” he asked wearily.

“Derek, and the others they’ll know by now that―”

“About her?” Stiles asked and Jackson nodded. “I hope so, maybe they talked to… maybe they found the same information that I did.”

“Shut up…” Cassie’s soft voice came out unexpectedly and both their eyes looked up at her as she stared down at them, her hands shaking. “Would the two of you just keep your mouths _shut_?”

“They’ll find you,” Jackson said. “You know that.”

“Well it will have taken them long enough,” she said.

“They’re smart,” he said. “Smarter than I ever give them credit for.”

“Didn’t think you cared so much,” Stiles said with a tired chuckle.

“I didn’t mean you,” Jackson quipped back just as fast.

Cassie let out a maniacal laugh that echoed through the room and her eyes went wide. She put a hand to her hair and just grinned with an expression that neither Jackson nor Stiles could read. “You’re both so mind numbingly ridiculous!” she said between her laughs. “If I have to listen to your idiotic conversing for one more day I swear you’ll―”

“We’ll what? Regret it?” Jackson snapped. “Yeah, I think we already regret a lot of things that got us here but don’t worry, they’ll get us out of here and you’ll be the ones carted away in body bags.”

“Jackson…” Stiles said gently.

“No, no she can say what she wants but I’ll say my bit too, even if they are my last words. They’ll find you,” he snarled. “Derek, Lydia, they’ll―”

“Lydia, Lydia, _Lydia_ ,” Cassie said with another eccentric laugh. “Cal wanted to take her first you know.”

Jackson seemed to growl under his breath and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“She’s not a part of this,” Jackson said through gritted teeth.

“Not part of this? She might just be the biggest part,” she said.

She saw the confused looks on their faces and it clicked to her.

“You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Jackson asked.

“You don’t know what she is.”

“She’s human,” Jackson said. “She’s just―”

“Human? The girl who tracks down death? No. I have to tell you, it makes it a whole lot harder to hide a body when you’ve got something like her to find them,” Cassie said.

“It’s not like you tried hard to hide them,” Stiles said.

“Maybe not, but the last thing we need is to be caught in the act by a banshee.”

“A what?” Stiles asked.

“What did you call her?” Jackson growled.

“The wailing woman? Banshee? No?” she made a tutting sound with her mouth and shrugged, her cold eyes narrowing in on them. “I guess none of you are as smart as you thought you were.”

Jackson and Stiles just looked over at one another, too confused to answer back and Cassie just turned to walk over to her makeshift table where she sat and stared off at one of the walls, breathing in and out slowly.

“Dude, she’s losing it…” Jackson muttered.

“Don’t,” Stiles said quietly under his breath just enough for Jackson to hear. “You can see she’s not stable, don’t push her over. It’s personal for her now.”

“You feeling okay?” Jackson asked.

Stiles sighed, trying not to feel the ache in his body or think about how much longer he could go without food or water, especially now that Cassie was in no state to give him any kind of relief in that department.

“For now,” he said quietly, looking over at Scott and Isaac slumped on the floor. “Oh god I hope they know enough to get us out of here.”

 

The room was a white blur as Isaac rose from his drugged state in the early hours of the morning. The light hurt his eyes and his senses were being bombarded with so many things at once. It didn’t take long for the memories too flood back into his mind and for him to realise that his wrists were bound with chains.

He started to involuntarily panic, his breathing getting faster as he tried to check his surroundings and figure out what was happening. His eyes landed on Jackson who was just giving him a blank stare.

“Welcome to the were-house,” he said dryly and Isaac was just still staring at him. “Get it? ‘ _Were_ -house’?”

“Where are we? Where’s―”

“He’s right next to you,” Stiles said with a croaky voice and Isaac’s head snapped over to him.

“Stiles, you look…”

“ _Fantastic_ , I know,” he said and Isaac gave him a little nod before he was searching for Scott.

His breathing got faster again and he tried to get to him.

“Scott? _Scott_?” he said.

The chains were restraining him but even with the leeway he had he hit a barrier, looking down he saw the circle of mountain ash. Jackson scoffed a little.

“Rookie,” he said and Stiles chuckled a little.

Isaac looked at them both, confused and slightly freaked out.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” he said and Jackson groaned again.

“No, you’re not dead, we’ve just been here long enough to not be doing the freak out thing that you’re doing,” Jackson said before he started to laugh. “Oh god, you have _no idea_ what you’re in for, do you?”

“You’re laughing? He’s _laughing_?” Isaac said.

“Don’t blame him, okay?” Stiles said. “It’s the stress. Do you remember anything? What happened? How did you get here?”

“They were going to kill him,” Isaac said, staring down at Scott. “I got in the way, knocked one of them over and then… well, it gets blurry after that.”

“Do you know who did it to you?” Stiles asked and Jackson scoffed.

“Does he _look_ like he knows?”

“Jackson just―” Stiles began but was cut off when Scott started to stir.

“Scott? Scott? Are you okay?” Isaac asked.

“You should have… you shouldn’t have come after me…” he grunted as he sat himself up and began to regain his bearings. “Where are―”

“We don’t know,” Jackson and Stiles said in unison.

“They were going to _kill_ you Scott,” Isaac said. “ _You_ shouldn’t have been stupid enough to believe that they wanted to trade you for Stiles, they were _going to kill you_.”

“And what good would it have done for both of us to be dead?” Scott said.

Isaac shook his head a little. “There is no world where I would just leave you to die Scott,” he said softly.

“Please, one of you ask _why_ they picked him,” Jackson said and Stiles shot him a glare.

“What are you talking about?” Scott asked.

“Jackson you don’t have to―” Stiles said.

“They’re going to find out anyway she’ll be back any minute,” he said. “Don’t you think it’s better he hears it from us?”

“What’s going on?” Isaac asked, looking between the two of them and Stiles sighed.

“They picked Scott because of you Isaac,” he said. “Or… _she_ picked him.”

“What do you mean?”

“You wouldn’t be talking about me would you?” Cassie said from the doorway, her expression blank as she stood next to Cal and his dark scowl.

Isaac’s stomach dropped, he must be hallucinating because the girl before him appeared just like his friend but she looked like a stranger. If it were possible for his temperature to drop his skin would have gone cold and the blood in his veins with it.

“Cassie?” he choked and her nostrils flared at the sound of his voice.

“Hey monster,” she said in a flat tone and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

 

 

Derek had barely slept since getting back to the loft. He didn’t change his clothes or even shower before he lay down on his mattress. Not that any of it mattered, the ache in his chest and the unbearable pain of Stiles’ suffering made it impossible to even close his eyes for a moment.

He didn’t know how badly they were treating Stiles but he could feel his discomfort inside him, the bond between them was telling him that Stiles was hurting.

It had only been a few hours since they had been out in the woods and daylight was breaking. He could hear Boyd and Erica stirring downstairs and sat up in his bed, his fingers caressing the straightened sheets. If Stiles had been in them they wouldn’t even be attached to the bed anymore.

He never even thought about how all of his annoying, frustrating, maddening little idiosyncrasies would be the things he missed the most.

As he headed downstairs Erica was rummaging through the loft looking for her phone.

“It was here, it was right here…” she muttered.

“What are you―” Derek began.

“She thinks there’s something on her phone that can help us,” Boyd said.

“Both of you shut up, I know… I _think_ I have something,” she said, pulling the phone out of the pocket of her jacket that was lying on the floor.

As she flicked through it the two boys watched her, she looked wide-eyed and frazzled like this was the key to it all and it was up to her to find it.

“Here,” she said, holding the phone out so they could see it.

They walked closer, looking at the screen closely.

“It’s a picture of Cassie with Stiles and Isaac,” Boyd said with a shrug. “What’s so―”

“Her car,” Erica said. “That’s _her_ car.”

“The licence plate,” Derek said.

“You think we can trace it?” Erica asked.

Derek grabbed a piece of paper to write down the numbers.

“You’d need access to the database,” Boyd said. “We can ask the sheriff to use the computers at the station.”

“He doesn’t know any of this, and he won’t tell us any of the case details if they do track something down,” Erica said. “Besides, how are we supposed to explain to him that we know who’s behind this?”

“He’s right though, we need to get in there to track the plate number back to him,” Derek said.

“He needs to know _something_ ,” Boyd said. “It’s his son who’s missing.”

“We can’t tell him without explaining how involved in all this we are,” Erica said.

“He deserves to know if we have _any_ idea about where Stiles is!” Boyd yelled and the other two just looked over at him.

“Boyd…” Erica said softly.

“We’ll tell him the moment we find anything,” Derek said calmly. “As soon as we know he can help, we’ll call him.”

Boyd let out a sigh and just nodded. “Okay.”

“I have an idea,” Erica said with a glance to Derek. “I’ll need Lydia’s help but I have an idea.”

“Call Allison and Lydia, tell them to get here as soon as they can,” Derek said. “What have you got?”

 

 

Isaac couldn’t hear anything but the beating of his heart and his own heavy breathing in his ears. Surely he was dead, because the sight before his eyes couldn’t possibly be true.

“Cass…” he all but whispered.

“Quiet,” she said as she walked in with Cal by her side.

He had a grin on his conceited face, directing it squarely at Isaac.

“This can’t be real…” he said with a shake of his head.

“Why not?” she snapped. “Because I couldn’t possibly be this strong or because you never imagined you’d turn into… _this_?”

“Cassie… Cass… what are you doing?” Isaac asked, his voice shaking.

Stiles and Jackson kept their mouths shut, eyes darting from Isaac to Scott and back up to their two captors standing before them.

“She did this…” Scott said, a horrified look on his face as he turned to Cassie. “You did this, you killed all those people―”

“Those ‘ _people_ ’ were not human,” she said indignantly. “We’re making the world a better place, taking out the monsters… the old you would have seen the beauty in that.”

“Don’t listen to her Isaac,” Scott said. “She’s not who you thought she was.”

Cassie’s gaze snapped to Scott and she glared down at him. “Was I talking to you?” she said calmly.

“Do you think I care if―”

“Was I talking to you?!” she roared, leaning in to face him and breathing in and out quickly with crazy wide eyes.

None of them said anything more, they all just stared up at her. Only Stiles could really see how far she had descended into her madness. In the beginning it was different, she really believed in what she was doing.

Now he could see that she doubted herself. Isaac was involved, and even before she knew it Stiles had noticed cracks forming. Cal was different, he was cold and focussed. Stiles doubted he even had emotions to break.

“You sure you can handle them?” he said with a sneer.

“Please,” Cassie said, her eyes never leaving Isaac’s. “I’ve got this.”

“I’ll be back later,” he said, fingers tightening around her arm as he pulled her in to kiss her cheek. “Have fun.”

She stood stoically, eyes not fixated on anything in particular as Cal grabbed his jacket and headed out of the room, shooting Isaac a wicked grin as he went.

His gaze was still on Cassie and finally she looked up at him with lifeless eyes. “When I get back, we can have a little fun,” she said before she was turning to head into another room, leaving them chained and alone.

 

 

“Do you think this will work?” Lydia asked as she walked with Erica towards the sheriff station.

“Depends how good an actress I am,” Erica said. “And how fast you can work.”

“I’ll be fine, are we sure he’s even in there this early?”

“Stiles has been gone for way too long for him to be doing anything but sleeping in his office and trying to find him,” Erica said with a shaky breath. “He’ll be there. You know what you’re looking for?”

“You want an address, a name, anything we can use to figure out where these… _people_ are hiding,” she said, turning to look at Erica. “I know what I’m looking for.”

“Okay, let’s do it then,” she said.

They headed to the door and headed inside the sheriff’s station. The woman at the desk looked tired, one hand on her computer mouse and the other on a coffee cup. As she saw them walk in she took in a deep breath.

“Can I help you girls?” she asked.

“We’re here to see the sheriff,” Lydia said quietly. “We’re friends of his son.”

The woman nodded and got up from her chair. “I think he’s in his office, just give me a minute and I’ll check.”

Lydia nodded and wrapped her arm around Erica’s waist.

When the woman was out of earshot Erica squirmed a little.

“This feels wrong,” she muttered.

“This was your idea,” Lydia said.

“Not the idea,” Erica said. “You. Hugging me.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Do you want to do this right?”

“I didn’t say stop,” she said.

It wasn’t long before the sheriff came around the corner looking tired and dishevelled, like he’d been awake since the moment Stiles went missing.

“Girls, what can I do for you? Is it Stiles?” he asked and they both felt a pang in their chests at giving him false hope.

“Uh… no, no we just…” Lydia stuttered.

“We just didn’t know where else to go,” Erica said.

The sheriff sighed and nodded like he knew that feeling all too well. “Come on, we’ll go to my office.”

He led them through the station, people seemed to have hit a standstill, no idea why a group of teenagers was being targeted like this.

He closed the door behind them when they got there and he rubbed his wrinkled forehead with his fingers.

“Have you slept at all?” Lydia asked gently.

“Well, my son’s missing, and Jackson Whittemore, and I got a call from Melissa saying that Scott’s probably with them, something about a phone call… and I have no leads, so… no, I haven’t really been sleeping.”

He sighed as he leant against the desk, no malice or sarcasm in his voice, just the remarks of a very weary man.

“How are the two of you holding up?” he asked.

Lydia just shrugged and bit down on her lip and Erica let out a loud sniffle followed by an even louder sob.

The sheriff tilted his head sympathetically as she reached a hand up to wipe at her eyes.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry I just―” she wept before her body was shaking with loud ugly sobs again.

The sheriff shook his head and walked over to put an arm around her. “It’s alright, it’s okay, you don’t need to apologise. We’re all worried.”

He tried to console her but Erica just cried harder.

“She doesn’t cope well with stress,” Lydia said softly, biting down hard on her lip to fight the sting in her eyes.

He nodded and rubbed her back with his hand. “Let’s go get you a glass of water,” he said and Erica just nodded back, her blonde hair bobbing wildly. “Are you alright to just wait here a minute? I’m just going to take her through to grab a drink and calm down a little.”

Lydia nodded quickly and just took a seat in front of the desk as the Sheriff escorted her out of the room. She waited until the door had clicked closed behind them before hopping to her feet and making her way quickly around to the sheriff’s desk chair, exhaling heavily as she opened the search server.

She took out her phone and dialled Allison’s number, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she fished around for the license number.

“Hey Lyds, you in?”

“Almost, I’m about to put the number in, I don’t know how much time I’m going to have,” Lydia said as she plugged the digits in.

“Okay, let me know when you find something,” she said.

Lydia typed into the computer, looking up every few seconds and straining her ears to see if anyone was coming. She hit enter and waited a few seconds before the screen popped up before her eyes.

“It’s not her car,” she said. “It’s her partner’s, Calvert Rochester.”

“He’s the one who’s been working with her?”

“Erica said her boyfriend’s name was Cal, got to be him right?” Allison said.

“Yeah well if it is, he’s a got a hell of a record,” Lydia whispered. “This guy’s been in juvenile detention so many times I doubt he even received a high school education.”

“What for?”

“Well, he had a lot of petty theft and then a charge for armed robbery and assault which is what got him in the last time. After that it seems clean.”

“How old is he?”

“Twenty four.”

“Maybe he made a new identity after his last arrest,” Allison said.

“Does that really work?”

“There are ways,” Allison said like she knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Okay I do not even want to know,” Lydia said. “There, I found an address listed in Beacon Hills, I’m sending it to you now.”

She took the phone away from her ear and snapped a photo of the screen. She looked up and around one more time as she hit send.

“Okay, it’s done.”

“Alright, we’re going to check it out.”

“Be careful.”

“Yeah,” Allison said before hanging up the phone.

Lydia closed the page and walked back around to the front of the desk and leant against it, tapping her fingers against the wooden sides. This had to work out in the end.

 

 

Isaac just sat limply against the pillar, his glassy eyes staring over at the door and every now and then he just shook his head in disbelief.

“Isaac?” Stiles whispered as the three of them watched him. “Isaac…” he just couldn’t think of what to say to make this any easier for him.

“She’s… she used to walk home from school with me…” he said under his breath. “Her backpack had… she would draw little hearts and stars on…”

“Is he having some kind of mental breakdown?” Jackson asked and Stiles shot him a look.

“Isaac,” Scott said. “Isaac she’s _killed_ people.”

Isaac shook his head a little. “I know her, she’s… no, she’s not like―”

“Katherine and probably Daisy, Karissa’s mother, her sister, who knows how many more.”

“No,” Isaac repeated as a tear dropped down onto his cheek. “Not her, she wouldn’t―”

“Isaac, look where we are!” Scott hissed.

“Don’t Scott,” Stiles said.

He looked over with an incredulous gaze. “We can’t just pretend this isn’t happening Stiles, it is.”

“I’m not saying we act ignorant to the whole thing. I’m saying let him adjust to it,” he said.

“She’s not who he thought she was Stiles,” Scott said.

“Shades of grey,” he said. “Just, shades of grey.”

“What are you talking about? There aren’t shades of grey in _murder_ Stiles!”

“Scott you can’t ― _ugh_!” he winced in pain and reached up to clutch at his chest.

Jackson strained to look closer at him. “Stiles? Stiles you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “Just… ribs don’t feel so good.”

He grimaced and took in a few short and sharp breaths until he was sighing heavily and relaxing his body into the pillar behind him.

“He’s _not_ okay Scott,” Jackson said so that only he and Isaac could hear. “He needs to go to a hospital and soon.”

“Has he had any water? What else have they done to him?”

“Apparently she gave him a few things but not enough, and since they got back with the two of you… she’s completely lost it Scott, I mean, more than just hunting werewolves for sport, she’s actually lost her mind. She’s fucking crazy.”

“She’s not crazy,” Isaac said, finally looking at the two of them. “She’s not crazy, she just―”

“She’s killing people, and kidnapping teenagers, and now she’s having a psychotic break,” Jackson said dryly. “She’s crazy.”

“Now I’m _sure_ you’re talking about me,” Cassie said as she stepped back into the room.

She walked slowly, purposefully, as she stared in at them. It didn’t take them long to realise that she was wielding a knife.

“Don’t go quiet on my account,” she said.

“Cassie, what are you doing?” Isaac asked quietly.

Her lip twitched as she stared down at him and then she smirked just a little.

“You’re all the same,” she said. “The same stupid questions, the same dumbfounded look on your faces.”

“What do you want from us?” Scott snapped.

She sent a look his way that was sharper than the knife in her hand. “Well _you_ were going to be dead, until that plan went out the window.”

“What are you _doing_?” Isaac asked again and her gaze shifted.

“What’s right,” she said.

“What―”

“You have asked me that question every single time you’ve opened your mouth,” she barked. “Sing a new god damned song.”

“You… what happened to you?” he asked and she scoffed, her eyebrows shooting sky high.

“Me?” she asked, laughing franticly. “What happened to _you_? I found a purpose, I found a way of making this fucked up world a little bit better and _you_ , you turned into a _monster_!”

Isaac shook his head at her, “Is that what you think? You thing _I’m_ the monster here?”

“You, your kind, you’re deadly and dangerous and I’ve _seen_ what they can do!” she shouted.

“Not every member of the same species acts in the same way,” Scott said and she turned her murderous glare to him. “We’re just as human as we are anything else.”

She shook her head. “You can keep your mouth shut.”

“This is not who you are Cassie, this is not _you_ ,” Isaac said.

“This _is_ me,” she hissed. “Getting rid of monsters and making this world safer, wasn’t that always what I wanted?”

“She saw her professor after he was killed by werewolves,” Stiles piped up. “Apparently it wasn’t a pretty sight, and don’t get me started on Cal.”

Cassie put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes as she looked over at him. “Do we need to get the shock-gun out again?”

“You think I need it? Cal gave me a pretty good work up last time,” Stiles said and she just looked away from him.

“So what’s your excuse for hurting him?” Scott asked. “He’s human, he’s not part of your little plan!”

“ _I_ haven’t hurt him,” she said firmly and Scott just narrowed his eyes. “He’s human but we need him, he’s tethered to the alpha.”

“He’d still come for the three of us Cass,” Isaac said. “Just let Stiles go.”

“I can’t do that,” she said.

“I can’t believe you did any of this,” Isaac said, shaking his head with a sad expression on his face.

“The old you would have understood,” she said with a hitch in her throat.

“How could I have ever understood this? You’re hunting and _killing_ people, so called ‘monsters’―”

“You would have been _proud_ of me!” she yelled and he just couldn’t understand it.

“Proud of you?” he asked incredulously.

“ _You_ of all people should be happy that I’m done defending monsters,” she said, the tears spilling from her eyes.

He just looked at her, at the pain and sadness in her eyes but she wasn’t done.

“I stood by them for _so_ long, lived with them and knew exactly what they were and I did nothing and that was _my_ weakness. I pretended that they weren’t or that I didn’t know but I am done with that because they exist, they’re _real_ , they’re not just living inside my mind with no one to believe it. I can see them, and feel them and I am _done_ with letting them get away with everything because they have power or because they threaten me!” the tears were streaming down her face now and she was yelling so loudly that it was reverberating around the room. “I can’t protect the monsters anymore.”

She turned to walk back to her table and Isaac felt his own tears fall because he didn’t think he’d be able to talk her down from this one.

 

 

Allison, Boyd and Derek made their way down to the address Lydia had lifted from the police files. They had no idea if anyone would be there but they were relying on their senses filling in the gaps. They drove down the street and with Allison pointed out the house as they passed it.

“Car’s not in the driveway,” Boyd said.

“We should go take a closer look,” she said and Derek pulled up at the end of the street.

“Stay here,” Derek said to Boyd. “Let me know if you see someone coming.”

Boyd nodded, standing by the car with his hands in his pockets.

“Let’s go,” he said and he and Allison started walking back towards the house.

It looked just like the others around it, small and a bit run-down. There was a rustic white porch around it and an old gate that lead to the backyard.

They walked slowly past it as Derek tried to listen in and when he gave Allison a nod they got closer.

“Sounds like it’s empty,” he said.

“Shall we get a little closer then?” she asked and walked up to the porch.

Derek came to a halt as he tried to climb the first step and let out a growl. Allison stopped at the top and looked back at him.

“Well, it’s definitely the right place, you had to know they’d have it protected,” she said. “I’ll go in, we shouldn’t break the circle.”

“You’re not going in alone,” Derek said.

“They’re not here, let me go in and look around. I’ll put the headset in and you can tell me if we’ve got company,” she said.

“Be careful,” he said.

She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small coil of wire, straightening it out a little before beginning to pick the lock. It wasn’t long before they both heard it click and she was opening the door.

“Nice job,” he said.

She smiled, “Not my first time.”

“In and out, headset on now and tell me what you see,” he said. “Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

She headed in, closing the door behind her and Derek sighed, taking out his phone and calling her number.

She put her headset in as she walked through the front passage, walking slowly and checking out her surroundings.

The place was very bare, minimal furniture and no television set in the living room. There was a stack of books on the kitchen table and another of unopened mail.

“ _What do you see?_ ” Derek’s voice in her ear made her jump a little.

“Not a lot, a few books, one on anatomy and another few on mythology,” she said. “That’s comforting.”

She headed up the stairs and saw two bedrooms, going into the master first. The bed was made neatly, it almost looked as though it had been days since anyone had slept in it.

“There’s blood on the bed sheets,” she said softly into the receiver.

“ _Most people have blood on their sheets, you should see mine_ ,” Derek said dryly.

“Do I want to ask?” Allison replied, moving into the bathroom.

“ _Stiles is always restless, I get a lot of blood noses_ ,” he said impatiently.

There was a toothbrush on the sink and a glass filled with water and when she looked up at her reflection it was in fragments. The shattered mirror was missing a few pieces but they didn’t seem to be lying nearby.

“Mirror’s broken too,” she said.

She made her way to the second bedroom, opening the door to a room kept far messier than the first.

While the master bed was neat, almost cold in its lack of character, this one actually looked lived in. The sheets were rumpled, more blood spattered on the pillow, there were a few personal items scattered about and a fiction book beside the bed.

Allison opened one of the draws and there were more books like the ones from downstairs. Poking out from under them was the corner of a photograph and Allison lifted them to pull it out. It turned out to be a small stack of them.

The first was quite old, low resolution. It was a picture of a little girl with a flower crown sitting atop her head, a big toothy grin on her face. The others were older, more recent. One had a picture of Cassie with an older man, possibly in his late forties or fifties. They sat together with a set of books laid out before them as if they were working on something. They were both smiling.

In the last picture Allison sighed as she looked down at a young Isaac, beaming up at the camera with an unruly mop of curly hair atop his head and Cassie stood beside him, fingers holding onto his arm and smiling with a toothy grin.

“ _Everything okay_?” Derek’s voice made her jump again and she put the pictures back where she found them.

“Yeah, I just… how do people become like this? Kidnap and murder, how does that happen?” she asked.

“ _Faith, belief in a cause, sticking to a code_ …” he trailed off and Allison closed her eyes for a moment, remembering all too well how easily she fell for Kate’s tactics.

“I guess so,” she said.

Derek could hear her making her way back downstairs and hoped she would find something to help them.

“ _Derek_!” Boyd’s voice in the distance made him snap to attention. “ _Derek someone’s coming and I think it’s their car_!”

“Allison, you need to get out, _now_.”

He quickly hid himself in the neighbours’ yard, still able to see the street from where he stood. The car was fast and it was only a few seconds after that he saw it emerge at the end of the street.

“ _Allison_!”

She stood at the table and felt her heart start to pound.

“ _You have to find another way out, he’s almost at the house_ ,” he said.

“Great,” she said.

She snatched something up with her hand and ran to the back door trying quickly to unlock it but she needed a key and she knew she wouldn’t have enough time to jimmy it open. The adrenaline rushed through her but she stayed calm and searched for another exit.

“ _Allison, get out now_!”

Cal had parked the car on the front driveway and climbed out of the driver’s side door, making his way to the front door. Derek didn’t dare say another word when he was within earshot.

He stopped at the top of the porch and looked like he was thinking. Derek could only just see him through the gap in the leaves but he knew he saw him reach into his back pocket and take out a gun.

Allison heard his footsteps on the porch and knew the only option was upstairs and so she ran, trying to stay as light on her feet as possible because that door would be open in a second.

Cal opened it slowly, walking inside and leaving the door open. He looked around the room and made no sound with his feet as he walked through the hall and into the kitchen, gun drawn.

Derek was searching for Allison anywhere but the phone was still pressed to his ear and he could hear her breathing quickly.

“Allison, you need to move,” he said in barely a breath.

His eyes scanned the house and he saw her figure appear in a window in the front top story window. He couldn’t smell Cal because he was masking his scent but he could hear him and he was far enough inside the house for him to make a move.

He dashed out of the garden to see Allison looking down at him.

“Is it unlocked?” he asked and he saw her nod in reply. “Do it quickly, jump and I’ll catch you.”

His voice was hardly more than a whisper and she nodded again, taking one quick look behind her before slowly getting a good hold on the window and she prayed that it wouldn’t get stuck.

With a quick pull the window slid easily up, banging against the top of the windowsill just before she was climbing out and Derek could hear Cal make a run for the stairs.

She didn’t have time to hesitate, she just jumped from the roof and Derek grabbed her, running as fast as his legs would take him until they were hidden behind the neighbours’ front fence and barely breathing.

Cal appeared at the window moments later, looking out as though he wasn’t sure whether the window had been left ajar or whether someone had been inside just before. Either way, he didn’t come back out for another five minutes and this time with a bag over his shoulder.

Allison and Derek crawled around to hide themselves from view of the car and watched him drive off again, finally letting them take a breath.

“He is _one_ guy,” Allison said, her chest heaving. “How is that so terrifying?”

“He’s one guy with a gun, and he’s trigger happy,” Derek said. “Not to mention he has four people held hostage.”

“ _Our_ people,” she said.

He nodded and not long after Boyd came running to meet them.

“Are you guys okay?” he asked, looking probably as freaked out as they did.

“We’d be better if we had something,” Derek said with a grunt.

“I’ve got something,” Allison said, holding up the letter in her hand.

“What is that?” Boyd asked.

“It’s an overdue notice,” she said. “For a lease.”

“How does that help us?” Derek asked. “We already have that information.”

“It’s a _commercial_ lease Derek,” she said.

Realisation began to sweep across his features and Boyd understood it too.

“It’s the address to a warehouse property on the edge of town, far away from prying eyes and ears,” she said. “This is where they’re keeping them.”

 

 

Lydia and Erica walked back to Derek’s loft as they waited to hear from the others. On the drive there Erica had worked hard to get herself back in control, trying to keep her breathing steady.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lydia asked.

“I’m fine,” she grumbled. “I just didn’t realise that once I started it would be so hard to stop.”

“No judgement,” Lydia said. “ _Believe_ me.”

“He’s going to be okay you know,” Erica said with a sidewards glance. “Jackson.”

Lydia took a deep breath in, pursed her lips, and nodded. “I can’t think about that right now, I need to focus on finding them.”

“Do you think we should have told Stiles’ dad?”

“Told him what? There’s not much you can say about this,” she sighed.

“Still, I think my crying might have made him feel worse,” she said. “Made it even harder to stop.”

Lydia gave her a small smile before they turned to corner to the entrance to the loft. As they did, they all but walked into the back of a woman standing there and game to a quick stop.

She turned to them and they both seemed taken aback.

“You know, every time I leave this place I seem to find my way back,” Karissa said with a smile.

“You got our messages then,” Lydia said.

“I got about ten dozen actually,” she said. “I hope you’ve got an idea of who’s behind it all.”

“We’ve got more than an idea,” Erica said and Karissa smiled again.

“Well then I’m here to help you tear them to pieces.”

Lydia and Erica exchanged a look before Lydia sighed. “Well I think right now we’re going to take all the help we can get.”


	47. Chapter Forty-Seven

“You made it,” Allison said as they made their way towards the loft.

Karissa gave them a smile and a shrug. “Heard you needed some help and I hear things have gotten a lot worse.”

“Is it wrong that I want to hug you?” Allison said with a small smile.

“I have that effect on people,” she said, leaning in to hug her. “Plus she did it too, so…” she pointed to Erica who rolled her eyes.

“It’s one of those days, okay?” she said and Karissa grinned.

Derek let out a loud grunting sound and had on his exasperated face.

“I’m not going to hug _him_ ,” she said.

“Good,” he said.

“So,” she said, looking around at them all. “What’s the plan?”

 

 

“The whole time…” Isaac muttered to himself, shaking his head. “How did I not see this… the _whole time_ …”

“It’s not your fault Isaac,” Stiles said quietly, shaking his head with his eyes closed. “They always say… that you know, the ones closer to home are the harder to pick.”

“ _You_ ,” Jackson said. “Need to stop talking and just sit there.”

“Why?” he asked with a shrug, turning his head to look over at him.

“Just stop trying to talk it’s painful to hear,” he replied.

“Why? My ass is killing me, I’ve got… concrete sores,” he grumbled.

“Why? Are you seriously asking why?” Jackson asked.

“Because you’re human and you won't survive if we don’t get out of here soon!” Scott yelled and everyone’s eyes were suddenly on him. “So just… just don’t speed up the process.”

“Scott,” Jackson said, shooting him a look.

“What? Like you’re helping with your sarcasm and jokes?” he said.

“Scott it’s okay,” Stiles said.

“No, no, _none of this_ is okay!” he said, shooting Isaac a look. “ _How_ could we miss this?”

“You mean how could _I_ miss it?” Isaac said.

“I didn’t say―”

“You didn’t have to Scott,” he said. “And you’re not the only one thinking it either okay? I _should_ have seen it, I should have _known_.”

“Stop it,” Stiles said softly.

“No, no I should have known, I should have at least seen the signs somewhere she’s my friend, she – she was my friend…”

“She was more than that…” Scott mumbled and Isaac scoffed, shaking his head.

“Are you never going to let that go?” he said.

“Guys…” Stiles said.

“No, how could she do this Isaac? You said you knew her so how could she be the one behind this?”

“I don’t… she’s…”

“She’s what Isaac?”

“She’s been through a lot―”

“That’s what you’re going with? Isaac, she’s _killing_ people!”

“I know that, don’t you think I know that?!”

“Stop!” Stiles yelled, clutching at his throat and breathing heavily.

They all looked over at him.

“Scott, it’s not just black and white, okay? And you can't blame yourself Isaac, no one blames you,” he said. “But one way or another Derek and the others… they’re going to get us out of here… one way or…”

“We know,” Isaac said softly, his eyes turning to Scott. “And I know you’re angry Scott but he’s right, and we can't let our emotions get the better of us… no matter what they are.”

His voice trailed off and he turned away, the ache in his chest not getting any smaller.

Scott sighed, trying to shift over to him.

“Isaac… Isaac we’ll get through this okay?” he said quietly. “I’m sorry I snapped I just…”

“I know,” he said, trying to reach him but hitting the ash barrier. “I love you.”

Scott nodded, “I love you too, I just… I hate being so helpless.”

“Well how about next time we let the rest of them get kidnapped and we’ll do the rescue work,” Jackson said and they both looked over at him with dry expressions. “Sorry to ruin the touching moment, really.”

Scott shook his head before the three of them turned towards the door, the sound of footsteps becoming increasingly louder. They were slow, almost purposeful.

Isaac’s heart was beating faster than the rest of them combined as Cassie appeared in the doorway.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her fingers were shifting their grip over the knife in her hand as she stared in at them.

“So,” she said. “How about we play a game?”

None of them said anything, they just stared up warily.

“How about truth or dare?” she asked, looking over at Isaac with an expressionless look on her face.

 

 

“Okay, so what are we going to do then?” Karissa said, folding her arms over her chest as they stood in the loft’s kitchen.

They had filled her in on all of their new information, about Cassie and Cal, about the warehouse, about everyone who’d been taken.

“We need to find a way to get them out and get the hunters locked up for good,” Boyd said, leaning his back against the counter.

Karissa shrugged, “You can’t just kill them?”

Derek let out a frustrated grunt. “We could,” he said.

Lydia pursed her lips and looked over at Derek with her head tilted to the side. “You know they wouldn’t want us to kill them.”

“Jackson might,” Erica said and Lydia shot her a look.

“Well Scott wouldn’t,” Allison said.

“Isaac wouldn’t either,” Boyd added.

“Stiles probably wouldn’t mind either way,” Derek said.

“He’d want to keep them alive because of Isaac,” Allison said.

“What’s the deal with him?” Karissa asked. “She betrayed him, she deserves whatever’s coming.”

“It’s not that simple,” Lydia said.

“Okay, so call the damn Sheriff then,” Karissa said. “Get the cops to meet us down there.”

The rest of them looked around at one another.

“He doesn’t know about any of this,” Derek said.

“About what? Supes?” she asked.

“He doesn’t know his son is in a pack of werewolves and that we’ve known for a while that people have been hunting us down,” Erica said.

“So… you can't tip him off?” Karissa asked.

“We can, but how would we explain it to him?” Lydia asked.

“What we _need_ ,” Derek said. “Is a way to get down there and get them out without killing anyone.”

“Okay wait, I might have something,” Karissa said and they all turned to her. “You need a reason to get the sheriff involved that’s not werewolf related, well how about me?”

“What do you mean?” Boyd asked.

“I’ll go down to the station and tell him where they are, give you the chance to make a move first, try to get a handle on the situation. I’ll tell him I did a little detective work, you know, vigilante justice for killing my mother and sister,” she said. “All you have to worry about is what you’re going to do when you’re down there.”

Erica and Boyd looked over at Derek while Lydia and Allison looked at one another.

“It’s not bad,” Allison said.

“The real question is what are you going to do when you get down there?” Karissa said. “You can guarantee they’ll have some kind of defence around that warehouse so you’re going to need a way of drawing them out of there before you go in. You know they can take down more than one werewolf at a time.”

“What are you suggesting? That we send someone in as bait?” Erica asked.

“Who can run fastest?” she shrugged.

“I think Lydia should―” Erica began.

“Excuse me?” Lydia said with wide eyes.

“If you’d had let me finish you would have heard me say that Lydia should probably sit this one out,” she said. “There’s no way you’re going to be bait or in there with Allison shooting arrows.”

“You could drive me to the station,” Karissa said. “And then drive me down there if the Sheriff won't.”

“Don’t you think you might be a little too close to this to keep your cool?” Allison asked.

“Cross my heart I’ll keep my claws to myself,” she said.

“Wait, what about your uncle?” Boyd asked, turning to look at Derek. “Do you think he’d help us out?”

“Maybe,” he said. “Call him.”

“Alright, so we’re doing this?” Karissa asked as Boyd took out the phone to dial Peter’s number.

“As soon as we can figure it all out,” Derek said.

 

 

Cassie looked from one to the next but none of them were saying a word.

“Come on,” she said. “Someone must want to go first.”

“I don’t know about them but I’m not really in the mood for games,” Jackson snarled and she just scoffed.

“Go on, just pick one,” she whispered with a curl in her lip.

“Oh for god’s sake… truth!” Stiles said with a shake of his head.

She turned to him and walked over, standing before him and tilting her head.

“Hmm,” she mumbled. “Let’s see, how does it feel to be the alpha’s pin-cushion?”

“His what?” Stiles asked and she shrugged.

“Pin-cushion, only useful to take what he gives you without complaining,” she smirked.

“Derek’s got more than one dimension,” he said coolly.

“An alpha always seeks a beta, or even an omega, but I guess the ironic thing is that he’s the dog and you’re the one who’s acting like the pet.”

“Stop it!” Scott snapped and her furious face turned to him.

“Alright, your turn,” she said through her gritted teeth. “Truth or dare?”

“I’m not playing your sick game, why do you need to do this?”

“Truth or _dare_?” she said in a sing song voice.

Scott steadied his breathing so he wouldn’t get angrier, he could feel the change brewing inside him and willed it to stop. That was the last thing he needed.

“Truth,” he growled.

Cassie grinned, walking over to the table to pick up her phone.

“Tell me,” she said as she flicked to just what she wanted. “You recognise her right?”

She turned the phone around so Scott could see and he felt his insides drop. There was grainy footage of someone standing on a front porch step and picking a lock, and there was no mistaking who it was.

“Allison…” Scott said in barely a breath as he watched her jimmy the door open and head inside.

“I thought so,” Cassie said. “What reason could she possibly have for basically breaking and entering?”

“Leave her out of this,” Scott said.

“She was the one wasn’t she?” Cassie said. “The first love?”

“Scott,” Stiles said. “What is it?”

“It would be his ex, breaking into my house,” Cassie said dryly. “Oh but wait, this is my favourite part.”

Scott watched the security vision as another figure approached the door and again the wave of sickness crossed him. He saw Cal walk through the door and disappear into the house, leaving it open in his wake.

His breathing was getting louder and more ragged but he fought to keep control as his mind crossed over all the possible scenarios.

“If you touched even one―”

“Oh _I_ never touched her, but I can’t guarantee Cal didn’t,” she sneered. “She’s a traitor. Argent’s are supposed to be hunters, doing what’s right. She might as well be just like the rest of you.”

The fury in Scott’s eyes grew and they started glowing golden as he bared his teeth.

She shook her head. “You’re too easy.”

“Cassie, stop…” Isaac said and she turned her head in a quick snap to face him.

She swallowed hard and her lips gave a slight twitch as she tried to keep her stony face.

“Your turn,” she said softly.

“No, I’m not going to play,” he said.

“Pick one,” she said.

“Cass I’m not going to do this.”

“ _Pick_ one,” she growled.

“He said no so just stop!” Scott yelled.

She breathed in deeply, eyes darting over to Scott for a second before she looked back at Isaac.

“Did you tell him about Denver?” Cassie said, her eyes mad. “Did you tell him?”

“Of course I told him,” Isaac said. “I told him everything.”

“Everything…” she said with a little laugh, grinning wildly.

She laughed even louder, shaking her head as her fingers gripped tightly to the blade between them.

“It was a treacherous little affair we had, wasn’t it?” she said, the madness in her eyes growing with every word. “You really think he told you everything?” she said as she turned to look at Scott.

“I trust Isaac,” he growled. “It doesn’t matter what you say.”

“Did he tell you about the other nights we spent together?” she said. “Maybe not in the same way, but there’s a kind of intimacy you just can't fake.”

“Scott don’t listen to her,” Stiles said in a hoarse voice from beside him. “She’s trying to provoke you.”

“Did he tell you about how we went into the woods together, how we talked all night when you just weren’t there?” she asked, an innocent tone in her spiteful voice. “Or about the way he looks when we reminisce about old times, about the history we have?”

“Scott…” Stiles said again.

“Did he tell you about what happened after I kissed him? Did he tell you that he kissed me back?”

“Cassie, don’t, I told him everything,” Isaac said.

“Did he tell you about the way he held me? About how his hands were pulling me in closer, how his hips rolled under me as my hands tangled in his hair?”

Scott was seething, Stiles could see his fangs bared and his eyes glowing angrily.

“Don’t listen Scott,” Stiles said and Isaac was just staring up at Cassie as if it would help cull her words.

Jackson was just sitting quietly, eyeing them all warily and paying close attention to the metal blade in Cassie’s hand.

“I said no! I said I loved Scott…” Isaac said.

“Then did you tell him what happened after you said no?” she said, turning her face slowly and Isaac felt his blood run cold.

Did she remember something he didn’t? What happened after he blacked out? He wouldn’t do anything to hurt Scott, would he?

On Cassie’s face dawned realisation, her lips pinching at the sides and her mouth forming an ‘oh’. “You don’t remember it do you? What happened after?”

“ _Nothing_ happened after,” Isaac said firmly.

“Do you really believe that?” she asked quietly, her eyes betraying more than her mouth was saying. “Go on, answer me… with the _truth_.”

Isaac just looked up at her, wondering how the sweet caring girl he knew could be so corrupted.

“I don’t remember what happened,” he whispered.

Scott’s brow furrowed as Isaac turned to look at him for a moment before he dropped his eyes to look back up at her. Her nostrils flared and she shook her head with a small grin on her mouth.

“No? It was probably the most intimate moment we’ve shared in a long time,” she said.

“Isn’t it enough that you have us locked up here?” Scott said and she sighed. “Isn’t that enough for you? Why do you have to try all this emotional torment too?”

“You want me to make it physical?” she asked, holding the handle of the knife in a fist this time and knelt down to stare at Isaac.

“Leave him _alone_!” Scott yelled.

“I can’t,” she said, not breaking her eyes from Isaac’s.

“Cass, _please_ …” he whispered.

“I saw what they did,” she said quietly. “With my own eyes, I saw it.”

Isaac didn’t dare look away. Her hands were shaking and he knew that the others were right, something inside her had snapped, she was running on pure adrenaline and fear and pain and he didn’t know if anything could get through to her now.

“The only man who has _ever_ treated me like a daughter,” she said with a shaky voice. “The _only_ one… is dead. And I never… I never quite understood what he meant when he talked about monsters like you and what they were capable of. You see, the brain, your _mind_ , can't comprehend something it’s never experienced. We base everything we know, everything we learn, off things we’ve seen or heard or done. There are some things we simply _can’t_ understand until we’ve lived them.

“I didn’t understand it, the brutality, the _evil_ inside what you are,” she said, tears spilling from her eyes. “Not until I saw it for myself.”

Her eyes went hazy and she seemed to lose focus of what was in front of her. Isaac could almost feel the pain and the terror and the aching loss that radiated from her as she knelt before him.

“When I found him,” she said, dropping her head a little. “His body was… well, it was just that, a body.”

She looked back up at him, glaring into his eyes so that he couldn’t look away.

She shook her head a little. “No limbs, no clothing, I don’t even know if he had any intestines left inside him, judging by the state of his desk-top. There was blood _everywhere_ , and I mean everywhere. And his head…” she choked up breathing steadily to try and stop her shaking. “Apart from not being attached to his body his face had scratches from his hairline to his mouth and even I could barely recognise him.

“It was only then than I understood everything he’d been saying to me, and why he trained me to do the work that I’m doing and I swore to myself that I would take revenge. I couldn’t let them get away with what they did, what horrors they were capable of… I _promised_.”

Isaac could feel his own tears on his cheek and he could feel Scott’s eyes on him but he didn’t dare look away. Her fingers were white around the blade and he knew she was preparing to get it dirty.

“So no, I can't stop or leave you alone… any of you…” she said. “I need to do this.”

“She wouldn’t hurt you Isaac,” Stiles said quietly. “She couldn’t.”

Cassie’s face twitched, her cheeks wet and her breathing getting faster. She leant in closer, holding the blade out to have it quick at Isaac’s throat. He tilted his chin up, trying to believe Stiles’ words as he felt the sharp edge of the knife pressed against his skin.

She pushed a little harder and he could see it on her face, she wanted to do it, or maybe she wanted to be able to do it, but the agony in her eyes was undeniable.

“Maybe he’s right,” she whispered, slowly pulling the knife back. “Your face is… maybe I can’t hurt you.”

She sighed, finally tearing her eyes away from Isaac. She turned slowly to Scott and her eyes turned cold.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t hurt him…” she said, lunging quickly to bury the dagger in Scott’s shoulder, making him cry out in pain, his hands straining against their chains.

“Scott!” Jackson and Stiles yelled together as Isaac stared over at him with an ache in his chest that started to spread through his body.

She pulled the dagger out and slashed it across his face and he cried out again, blood pouring from his cheek before the gash began to heal slowly. She stood up and walked away, dropping the dagger on the floor before sitting back at her table, head in her hands.

“Scott,” Isaac said softly. “Scott I’m so, so sorry.”

Scott looked up at him with a grimace of pain on his face and didn’t say a word.

 

 

 

The mood in the loft was tense as they waited for the final piece to fall into place. None of them were completely sure of anything but they needed to make sure they were prepared enough for when they made their move.

After all, none of them wanted any of their friends to wind up dead, and they didn’t yet know how close some of them were to their fate.

“He’s here,” Erica said, walking in from outside to let them know that Peter had finally turned up. “We still sure this is a good idea?”

“Anyone else want to volunteer as bait?” Boyd asked her, arms folded tightly.

She shrugged, walking in to stand by Derek who was just facing the door and waiting for his uncle.

“You know Derek, you’re becoming quite the fair-weather friend,” he said as he walked through the loft doors, smug grin painted on his handsome face.

“And you use me for exactly the same thing,” he said. “Are you going to help us or not?”

“Well that depends entirely on what you need from me,” he said.

Derek looked about ready to throttle him when Lydia piped up.

“We were hoping you’d act as a momentary distraction, she said and he turned his gaze upon her.

Allison stepped a little closer to her which didn’t go unnoticed by him and he chuckled.

“You want _me_ to risk _my_ life to try and help save a group of kidnapped teens?” he asked.

“Would it help if I said please?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him and he just seemed to grin.

“I don’t have any particular attachment to any of them,” he said. “Not like the rest of you seem to anyway.”

“You were Scott’s alpha once,” Derek said.

“Once perhaps, but I was never quite the alpha _you_ are dear nephew,” he said and this time it was Karissa who spoke up.

“Running out of time, are you in or are you out?” she said and he looked over at her.

“Well, fancy seeing you again,” he said.

“Is he serious?” she said, looking over at Derek with a blank expression.

“I can never tell,” he said. “Will you help us or not? If you won't, then get out so we can work something else out.”

“I’ll help you,” he said.

Derek narrowed his eyes at him. “And what do you want in return?”

“Oh Derek, I don’t think there is anything that I want that you could give me,” he said.

“Okay, so it’s settled then,” Karissa said, tired of hearing Peter’s sanctimonious drawl. “We’ll leave, me and Lydia, and you’ll go to the warehouse. You’ll only have as much time as it takes to get the cops out there.”

“Hopefully that’s all we’ll need,” Boyd said.

“Alright,” Erica said. “Let’s do this.”

 

 

 

It was hard for Isaac to think about the way he used to talk about the people behind all the murders, hard to think that not all that long ago he had been so blasé about killing them if it came down to it. Now he looked over at Cassie, the pail and crumbling girl before him, and he knew that if it came down to it he wouldn’t be able to do it.

And then he looked over at Scott and he wondered if he had the same thoughts, if he would be able to take her life if need be. Scott had always been a pacifist, trying to find ways to make things work without all the violence and death but with his werewolf temper maybe he could be pushed over the edge. It was unlikely, even if he hated Cassie in that moment.

Isaac tried to think of a way out of this, tried to find some kind of way to keep them safe but it was almost hopeless.

Scott’s wounds had healed, the blood losing its heat as it began to dry on his clothing. He kept switching his gaze from Stiles to the floor in front of him, unable to look at Isaac. It wasn’t because the thought of a possible betrayal had him heartbroken, he knew Cassie would say anything she could to make him angry, but it was because he just didn’t know what to say.

Stiles was running out of time, and he was trying to focus all his energies on monitoring him, not that he could do anything if things deteriorated. He hated feeling like he couldn’t do anything and the bond between Stiles and himself was quivering inside him, telling him that it was fragile because one side of it was slowly weakening.

Isaac looked up at Cassie, her head slowly turning to face him. Her look was somewhat softer than before, a fondness in her eyes that hadn’t been there since she didn’t know what he truly was.

“You really did grow into such a handsome face,” she said quietly.

He didn’t drop his gaze, the corners of his lips lifting in just the most miniscule of smiles before her eyes fell to her hands and she sniffed.

“It’s too hard to look at you…” she all but whispered.

“Cassie,” he said. “Cass it’s still me, I’m still here.”

She looked up again but Isaac heard the footsteps of someone coming from the other room, and a few seconds later so did Cassie because she got to her feet and Isaac could just smell the fear in her blood.

Cal walked in, dumping a bag on the ground and looking over at the group of them sitting on the ground.

He smirked, “I see your traitorous little hunter friend broke into my house,” he said and Scott let out an audible growl. “If I ever see her again she won't be breathing for long.”

“What are you waiting for?!” Scott yelled and Cal laughed to himself as he sat back, reaching into his bag to pull out a water bottle and take a sip. “If you’re going to kill us why don’t you do it already?”

He shrugged, “Nah, looks like Cass is having too much fun with you yet.”

He looked up at her and her eyelids fluttered a little before she looked away.

“You could have killed him if you wanted, and I know you probably want to,” he sneered in the most arrogant way possible. “It doesn’t really matter now; they’re starting to make their moves anyway. Soon enough we’ll have a nice little alpha to play with. One little beta hardly matters.”

Scott didn’t say anymore, they may have had some leeway with Cassie, but the way Cal was talking he wouldn’t hesitate to put any of them down. Jackson was seething, his rage never his strongest control point, but even he knew when he should keep his mouth firmly shut.

“So they’re finally biting?” Cassie asked quietly.

“Well, if breaking into my house isn’t evidence enough then I don’t really know what else we’re looking for,” he said, standing up from his seat. “I’m going to go keep our other friend _entertained_.”

He gave her a sad excuse for a smile and took slow strides until he was out of sight. Stiles knew he was going over to where they had Daisy, he didn’t know exactly what they were doing to her but Jackson said that she was alive, so there must have been some purpose for it.

He didn’t want to think about it, about what they could possibly be using her for. He just hoped that Allison being at that house meant that the others had a plan, god knows they needed it.

 

 

Lydia drove Karissa down to the station, their hearts both beating faster than normal as the adrenaline surged through them.

“You know what you’re going to say?” Lydia asked.

Karissa sat with her head leant on the glass and staring out the window. “All I really need to do is get them out there, so they can _arrest them_ ,” she said. “Not that I don’t know why you don’t just kill them.”

“You should know, we just went through it,” Lydia said and Karissa sighed.

“I know what your reasons are I just don’t know why it’s necessary. They killed people, in my world that means that they pay with their lives.”

“Well in _this_ world it means they go to prison for the rest of their lives,” Lydia said. “Besides, the sheriff’s department could use a few closed cases rather than letting them get cold.”

“Must be hard,” Karissa said. “Being a cop in a town like Beacon Hills.”

“Well none of you make it easy,” Lydia said, looking over at her for a moment before turning back to the road.

“You know, I never even _thought_ about it until all of you came along with all your morals and weird ideals,” she said.

“By weird ideals… you mean morals,” Lydia said with a raised eyebrow.

Karissa rolled her eyes, “I was raised differently to you, not saying that either way we were taught was wrong but it was different, and the supernatural world has different rules to the human one.”

“I do not doubt that,” she said. “We’re almost there, you ready?”

“How far away do you think they are?” she asked.

“They’re probably still a few minutes out,” she said.

“Well then let’s get in there and do this as soon as we can,” she said as they turned into the sheriff’s station parking lot. “I want to get down there with them.”

Lydia sighed, pulling into a space and jumping out quickly to follow Karissa. _This had better work_ , she thought.

 

 

Cassie sat at their table, eyes tentatively in Cal’s direction when they weren’t on the laptop screen in front of her. Every so often she would glance over at Isaac who was always looking her way.

After what seemed like a long time her eyes got wide and then confusion or maybe it was fear washed over her features.

“Cal!” she called and in a few seconds he was striding towards her.

“What? What is it?” he asked, leaning in to take a look.

“Something tripped the sensor,” she said quietly.

Jackson and Scott exchanged a glance and both of them tried to look over at Isaac but he was now just staring down at his hands bound together in his lap.

A cruel smile twisted onto Cal’s face and he took quicksteps until he was out of their sight, coming back into view with a shotgun in one hand and another one that he was tucking into his holster.

“Keep an eye on them, looks like someone is finally coming looking for them,” he said with a grin, flashing it at the four of them before he was rushing for the door.

“Is that Derek?” Stiles slurred a little, finding it hard to keep his eyes open.

“I’m sure Cal won't hesitate to tell you if it is,” Cassie said, now standing with her fingers brushing the table.

“Come on Cass,” Isaac said and she turned to him. “You know this is wrong.”

“You don’t have the right to judge me for―”

“I never killed anyone Cass, you know me,” he said.

“I thought I did,” she whispered.

The others were watching closely, Scott was wondering why Isaac was even still trying to reconcile with her.

“I’ve been a werewolf since before you came back here, and we… we had fun, didn’t we? It was like old times,” he said and she swallowed hard.

“Isaac, what are you―” Scott said softly.

“You said you missed me, said you missed spending time together and hanging out like we used to.”

“That was before,” she said with a hitch in her throat and a slight shake of her head.

“I’m still me, Cass, I’ve changed but I’m still me,” he said, mouth twitching into a smile. “I’m still that kid that you scared to death on his first day in a foster home because you were so happy and upbeat and ready to show me around the place. We’ve both been through things, and we’ve both changed, but I’m still that boy and you’re still that girl. We’re not that different, we just took different roads to get away from all the bad things, to escape.”

“Isaac why―” Scott started but he heard Stiles’ soft words whispering to him from across the room.

“Let him say it Scott,” he said and Scott turned to look at him with confusion and a furrowed brow.

“When Derek offered me the bite, I didn’t know… he never told me the full story, never told me what it would really do. It was just… he offered me a way out. It was a way to feel like I wasn’t completely helpless,” Isaac said and Cassie took a few steps closer, lips pursed and eyes wet. “You know what that’s like, right? You get that?”

She nodded. “I do, I know how that feels.”

“Isaac you can’t really―” Scott interrupted and Isaac’s face snapped towards him.

“Scott just stop, okay? This isn’t about you,” he said harshly and Scott’s face dropped a little, he couldn’t understand it.

“It is though isn’t it?” Cassie said, the anger slowly returning to her eyes as she looked over at him. “Because you _love_ him.”

Isaac took a look at Scott, his own eyes brimming with tears as he turned back to her. “Me and Scott… it’s a werewolf thing,” he said. “I wouldn’t have… I wouldn’t have looked at him like that if it hadn’t been for…”

Even Jackson had wide eyes, he tried to catch Stiles’ gaze to make a face but Stiles was too busy staring at the rest of them. Scott shook his head very lightly and had his jaw clamped tightly shut.

“He’s your trigger,” she said, a light chuckle escaping her lips and a look of what was almost relief on her face. “It was all a part of the curse?”

“I never knew what this would be like when I accepted Derek’s offer, maybe I wouldn’t have taken it…” he said.

Every word that Isaac had said was another needle into Scott’s skin. It stung in a way that he hadn’t expected it to. He would gladly have taken another knife to his chest in place of the way his words were piercing his heart.

Cassie crouched down, choking back her own tears as she reached in to place a hand against Isaac’s cheek.

“You could save me you know,” he whispered. “I know you would have heard of ways to cure this.”

“I… I’ve heard… I mean there’s rumours…” she said.

“So we can figure them out, you and me,” he said. “We can do it together Cass, just like we always said we would, remember?”

The tears fell from her eyes and Scott stared down at his hands, everything welling up inside of him screaming to be let out.

“So let’s leave all this, just drop it and go,” he said and the faintest of smiles crossed her lips. “If…”

“If what?” she asked.

Isaac sighed.

“Let the others live, let them go and we’ll leave, just let them go,” he said, and the room echoed in stunned silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments and let me know what you think!


	48. Chapter Forty-Eight

Lydia and Karissa walked through the doors of the station, looking around for the sheriff.

The receptionist seemed to recognise Lydia and she called out to them.

“You two looking for the sheriff?” she asked.

“We need to talk to him, now,” Lydia said.

“It’s pretty urgent,” Karissa said and the woman picked up her phone.

“Yes, sheriff? There’s a couple of girls here to talk to you, sayin’ it’s important,” she said, nodding once before hanging up the phone. “He says go right in, you remember―”

“I know where to go,” Lydia said with a quick smile before they were moving through the halls and down to the sheriff’s office.

They didn’t even have to open the door because he was already there, holding it for them as they walked in.

“What is it girls? Do you know something?” he said, looking from one to the other desperately, the bags under his eyes sagging like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.

He looked from Lydia to Karissa and then did a double take, trying to pick where he recognised her from.

“We might have some information that you could use,” Lydia said, looking up at Karissa.

“You probably don’t remember me,” she said with a small shrug.

He nodded a little, pointing his finger at her as it came back to him. “Karissa, right? You were here when…” he trailed off, unsure whether to continue.

“When my mom and sister were killed, yeah,” she said. “It’s fine, you can say it. I’ve had time to get used to hearing the words.”

“Right,” he said, giving her a sympathetic smile. “So what do you know?”

“Well that actually comes back to the whole ‘my family is dead’ thing,” she said. “I know you law enforcement types don’t exactly condone vigilante style justice but I couldn’t just do nothing. I left for a while and I tried to track down who could have done this to them.”

“You went looking for a killer on your own?” he asked.

“I’m capable of taking care of myself,” she said. “But that’s beside the point, the point _is_ that I tracked back a few murders that were similar in other states and tried to find a link to the ones that were happening here and I’m almost sure I found one.”

“Well what is it? Do you know who did this?” he asked.

Karissa looked over at Lydia for a moment and she nodded at her. “There was a similar murder in Colorado, at Denver University actually, and when I did a little digging, don’t ask me how legal it was exactly, I found a few names that I thought I recognised.

“Does… does the name Cassie Calhoun sound familiar?” she asked and the sheriff almost shook his head and opened his mouth to say something but when the realisation hit him it came out in just a puff of air.

“Wait… wait… you’re telling me that you think Cassie has something to do with this?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

“And her partner, whatever his name is,” she said.

“Calvert,” Lydia said.

The sheriff put a hand to his head and leant back on his desk. “It can't… all her paperwork checked out…”

“And his?” Karissa asked.

“He never actually worked here, he would just come in to see her, bring her lunch or… wait so you think the two of them did all of this?” he said.

“Yes, I do, and think about it,” she said. “It explains why they kidnapped Stiles and Scott and the rest of them and why we haven’t found their bodies yet.”

The sheriff’s chest seemed to deflate a little and Lydia kicked at the back of Karissa’s boots.

“Not that I think they’re dead I just… I don’t think they’re ready to kill them I think this it’s different, I mean it’s personal for her right? You guys were her friend?” she turned to look at Lydia with a ‘help me out here’ look on her face.

“Isaac was,” she said. “One of his oldest friends I think.”

“Alright, I’ll get the units moving out to their address now,” he said, standing up straight and getting ready to make a move but Karissa stepped in front of him.

“Wait, I think I have one better,” she said, pulling the envelope out of her pocket and handing it to him. “I think this is where they’re keeping them.”

He narrowed his eyes at her a little as he looked down at the lease notice. “How did you get this?”

“You can arrest me for it later if you need to but for now I think you need to get down there,” she said and he sighed but nodded.

As he moved around her to head out of his office she piped up again.

“Wait! One more thing,” she said and he turned to face her. “I may have mentioned to Derek and the others that I knew something and they may or may not be on their way down there now.”

“You what?” he said. “Never mind, both of you stay here! I need all units mobilised and call the hospital, tell them we need ambulances now!” he yelled as he ran out and Karissa turned to look at Lydia.

“We’re not listening to him, you know that right?” she said.

“I don’t think I could stop you so let’s go,” she said.

With all the rushing about in the station as they scrambled to get ready, the two of them slipped out and back to Lydia’s car so they would make their way out to the warehouse.

 

 

“Explain to me why we’re all the way out here again?” Erica said as they kept their eyes on the warehouse as they also kept their distance from it.

Derek sighed in frustration. “If we get close enough for them to see us then what was the point of sending Peter in as a distraction?”

“Still asking that question _anyway_ ,” Boyd asked. “I know I suggested him but he was almost too willing to do it.”

“I’m sure he’ll ask me for something in return in no time at all,” Derek said.

“What exactly was Peter’s plan?” Allison asked, staring down the binocular lenses as she surveyed the building.

“He needed to be clumsy, find some way of letting them know he was there and luring at least one of them out,” Derek said.

“My guess is that _she’ll_ be in there with them and he’ll be the one out looking for blood,” Erica said.

“And when do we move in?” Boyd asked.

“As soon as he’s out of our earshot,” Derek said.

“I see something,” Allison said, peering through the lenses at the entrance closest to them.

The others all used their heightened senses to look, seeing a dark figure come jogging out of the doors and into the woods across the old road.

“Get ready, we move in under a minute,” Derek said and they all prepared themselves for what was to come.

 

 

Cal could see the figure up ahead, the one that tripped his sensors. With each turn it got just out of reach and he snarled in frustration. The next time he saw the dark figure through the trees he aimed his gun and pulled the trigger, running faster towards it.

He came into a small clearing and stopped, gun drawn as he slowly circled. As he made the three-sixty he flinched at the sight of the man before him.

His lip curled. Peter stood looking at him with a charming smile and Cal lowered his gun, but only a little.

“You tripped my sensors?” he chuckled. “Of course you did.”

“How clumsy of me,” he said.

“You know, you were a good little informant for a while, don’t get me wrong, but don’t think I won't put you down like the rest of them,” Cal said and Peter put his hands up in defeat and pouted his bottom lip a little.

“And here I was thinking we had a truce,” he said.

“You came to _me_ , and I didn’t kill you then and there because you offered me information.”

“ _Invaluable_ information,” Peter corrected and Cal smirked again.

“Which is exactly why I _didn’t_ kill you,” he said. “You think if your words hadn’t led me to that second maeve or given me intel on that alpha that you would still be breathing right now?”

“So I suppose you don’t need any more help from me,” Peter said and Cal narrowed his eyes.

“I’m not in the mood for games,” he said, lifting the gun higher again.

“Are you in the mood for an ambush?” Peter said and Cal’s eyes got a little wider. “Because that’s exactly what you’ll be walking into if you don’t make a move _now_.”

“If you’re lying to me ―” he snarled.

“Did you think Derek wouldn’t come after you with a plan?” he said. “You should probably run.”

Cal grit his teeth and let out a frustrated yell before lowering his gun and firing as Peter leapt out of the way. He cried out in pain as the bullet tore into his stomach but Cal was too busy to check if he was dying, he was too busy running back towards the warehouse, completely enraged.

 

 

Cassie didn’t know what to say, she just knelt there, looking into Isaac’s eyes as he pleaded with her.

“Just let them go, and then it can be you and me, okay? We had so many plans didn’t we?” he said, his face as charming as it had ever been. “Let them out of here alive and we’ll disappear, we’ll finally be free.”

“I can’t― I… I promised I…”

“Listen to me, I know what it feels like okay? I don’t have anyone anymore,” he said. “Just like you, but _they_ do, they all have someone who cares about them, who _needs_ them. That’s not us, we can leave because we’ve got no one else.”

She smiled a little, her thumb brushing over his cheek. “You and me?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he said with a gentle nod. “You and me.”

“What are you doing?” Scott said, looking over at the two of them. “Isaac, what the hell are you saying?”

“Don’t, Scott,” he said. “I know exactly what I’m saying.”

“No, no you’re not leaving with _her_ , no there’s no way―”

“Stiles needs a hospital!” he said, “and you need to get back to your mom and Jackson has his own family, and Lydia, you need to stop fighting me!”

“You think if she unchains me I’m just going to just go? No, she won't get away with this and she’s not going _anywhere_ with you!”

Her face had changed, she dropped her hand from Isaac’s face and stood up, turning to look at Scott and take slow steps towards him.

“And why would I unchain _you_?” she snapped. “Why would I unchain you when you’d never let us rest, you’d have us constantly on the run!”

“Cass, it’s okay we can―” Isaac tried but she was through listening.

“Maybe I would just leave you here and let Cal finish you off because from what I can see you are exactly the kind of monster I’ve been trying to get rid of!”

Scott snarled, pushing himself up in his chains and standing to face her. The hair was already growing down the sides of his face, his eyes glowing golden and his teeth elongated to fangs as he fought against his restraints, the chains creaking with his strength.

She scoffed, smiling derisively at him from inches behind the barrier of mountain ash. “Big tough werewolf you are,” she sneered.

He let out a deafening roar as he lunged forward, pushing against the barrier as hard as his weary body would allow him. She shook her head as he put all of his strength into it, yelling with the effort it took and was almost laughing, the hysteria taken over.

And then it all suddenly changed. Her face was no longer hysterical but panicked, confused, practically horrified as Scott’s eyes flashed an ominous shade of crimson. This time she stepped back, shaking her head in disbelief and Isaac’s mouth dropped as he looked up at him, that wasn’t possible, was it?

“No, no, no, _no_ , _no_!” Cassie said under her breath and Scott pulled himself back from the line, still snarling as his eyes dissolved back to their golden beta colour. “No that can’t be right!”

Scott looked confused and turned his gaze to Isaac who had almost the same look on his face as he tried to understand what had just happened. When he turned back to Cassie she had a gun pointed shakily at Scott and they were all holding their breath.

 

 

“Alright, we’ve probably tripped at least one alarm being here now so we don’t have much time,” Derek said as they advanced on the property. “Lydia and Karissa should have the police on their way down here but we need to get in there and make sure they’re okay.”

There was an almighty roar from inside and it made everyone’s skin tingle, even Derek’s.

“You all go,” Boyd said. “I’ll wait here to see if he comes back.”

“Boyd,” Erica said with a small shake of her head.

“You heard _that_ ,” he said. “Go, I’ll be fine.”

“Come on,” Derek said and Allison drew her bow.

Erica leant up and kissed Boyd on the cheek as they moved around the back of the building.

“Are there any windows?” Allison asked.

“Mostly closed off,” Derek said. “Cameras?”

“Can’t see any but they probably have some kind of device letting them know we’re here,” Erica said. “Can you hear that?”

He nodded, “we need to get in there.”

“What is it?” Allison asked.

“Scott,” Erica said. “Something bad is happening.”

“Door,” Allison said, pointing up ahead.

As they made their way towards it Boyd spotted movement up ahead and the moment his eyes focussed he saw Cal racing back, red-faced and blood boiling.

“Derek he’s coming back!” he said, loud enough for them to hear him from behind the large building.

Derek and Erica both turned their heads back and Allison gave them worried looks. “What? What is it?” she asked.

“The distraction didn’t work,” Derek growled.

As Cal ran he lifted his gun and Boyd started to run off to the side. He fired a shot, narrowly missing him before letting off two more, one of them striking Boyd in the thigh.

He cried out in pain and dropped to the ground, skidding in the dirt and grass.

“Boyd!” Erica said but Derek and Allison were already working on the door.

“Erica come on we need to move!” he said through gritted teeth.

Cal didn’t stop running, he just burst through the front entrance, slamming down the lock once inside and racing towards the back where the others were being held.

 

 

Lydia drove a little faster than the limit, eyes constantly checking the mirrors.

“You’re not going to get pulled over, not when every cop in town is heading the same way we are,” Karissa said.

“I can’t hear any sirens,” Lydia said.

“That’s because they need to get their shit together before they move out, they can't just drop everything and move,” she said. “They’ll be right behind us, I mean Stiles _is_ the sheriff’s kid.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said, shrugging her shoulders a little. “Though sometimes I think I wouldn’t mind so much if these two _did_ get killed, but I try not to think about that.”

Karissa smiled a little. “Just let go of the guilt, don’t feel bad for people like them.”

“Oh I try not to,” she said.

“Well drive a little faster, I don’t want to miss anything,” Karissa said.

“Please don’t lose control,” Lydia said and Karissa just shook her head.

“Believe me, I’m trying to,” she said. “It’s not easy when you never finished getting taught.”

Lydia stayed quiet for a moment before she spoke up gently. “I’m sorry about your mother, and your sister.”

Karissa sighed loudly. “Yeah, me too, but I can't dwell on it forever. As soon as these assholes get what they deserve, maybe I’ll feel like justice has been done and I can move on.”

“You’re leaving again?”

“I wasn’t made to stay here forever,” she said. “I wasn’t made to stay anywhere forever.”

“Are any of us?” Lydia asked and the pair exchanged a smile.

“Alright, enough philosophical bullshit, put your foot down, let’s go.”

 

 

“That can’t be _possible_!” Cassie hissed again, staring at Scott with her hands shaking over the gun that was pointed at his head.

Isaac’s eyes darted to Jackson who had clearly seen it too, Scott’s eyes turning the colour of an alpha.

“You… you can’t, you’re just a beta…” she muttered to herself and Scott couldn’t understand her words.

He didn’t even know his eyes had changed for that brief moment.

“Cass… Cassie… hold on…” Isaac pleaded.

“No!” she shouted, the gun swinging as she faced him for a second. “No, you saw it, you saw him! Can’t you see what he _is_?!”

“No, Cass it’s not what you―”

“Just _look at him_!” she shrieked and Scott looked over but Isaac didn’t look back.

Jackson’s head snapped towards the entrance as he heard three loud shots come from outside. He heard a muffled cry of pain and really tried to hone his senses in on the outside. Everything was dulled of course but he could almost make out the sound of someone on the outside of the building, there must have been a second door.

In a flash Cal came bursting through and into the room, heading straight for his bag for more bullets.

“They’re here, _now_ ,” he growled. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, load up.”

She was still shakily staring at Scott. Cal tried to hand her some ammunition but she wasn’t even looking in his direction.

“Hey, pay attention!” he said, grabbing her arm and wrenching her around to face him.

“He’s it, he’s what Stancliff taught us about in our last lesson,” she said frantically. “He’s it he’s―”

She was cut off when the back of Cal’s hand collided with her cheek and she gasped loudly.

“We _don’t have time_ for that now!” he snarled. “Armour up, take this,” he handed her a new blade. “And shoot to kill, if you get a clear shot at the alpha, take it.”

She was breathing quickly but she nodded, just as the side door around the corner slammed open.

 

 

“Okay hang on, I’ve almost got it,” Allison said as she picked the lock on the side door.

“He’s back in there I can hear him,” Erica said.

“When we get in there we don’t do anything rash,” Derek said, eyes watching Allison’s hands carefully. “They have arms and clearly they’re not afraid to use them. We get in there and we assess what we can, and we try to limit the damage they can do until the sheriff gets here, got it?”

“Got it!” Allison said as the door made a slight clicking sound.

Derek lunged forward but Allison threw her hand over his chest.

“Wait!” she hissed, eyes looking up to the top of the door. “I see a wire.”

Derek grunted and stepped back. “What is it?”

“I’m guessing it’s a trap, it’s too hard to set up a ring of mountain ash if you’re bringing in werewolves all the time so it must be something else, maybe a gas?” she said. “Step back.”

She lifted the front of her shirt up over her face and the two wolves took a big step back. She gave herself some leverage and then pushed forwards, throwing a powerful kick into the door so that it slammed open and into the wall.

Erica and Derek watched the wire snap and a white mist spilled out from a hidden canister. They stepped back even further and Allison tightened her hand over her mouth as they waited a few seconds for it to dissipate.

“Good call,” Derek said and Allison nodded, finally taking away her hand and re-arming her bow.

“Thanks,” she said. “Shall I…?”

“You go after me,” he said as he ran in through the doorway.

It only took him a second to realise that their guns were already trained on the door.

His claws extended and his eyes gleamed red as he let out a menacing roar, lunging across the gap until he was behind more crates for cover. As he did so it gave Allison and Erica the chance to run to the other side, shielding themselves behind some old sheets of metal as they heard the bullets crunching into the crates on Derek’s side. Allison managed to let one of her arrows fly but she was sure she missed any and all targets.

The four who were chained up all covered their faces and ears, if the noise wasn’t deafening enough then the possibility of being shot was enough to have them panicked. They saw Derek make his move, and then off to the side they saw two more figures heading in the other direction.

Cassie and Cal were hidden behind makeshift barricades, Cal closest to Derek while Cassie guarded the hostages. Cal’s gun remained aimed in Derek’s direction while Cassie let off a warning shot into the wall right by Erica and Allison.

They two threw themselves at the wall, backs up and eyes alert. That was when Erica’s eyes fell on another body.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, nudging Allison’s arm. “ _Daisy_.”

She lay on her side, arms chained up and out in front of her, her sweet clothing ripped and dirtied and covered in blood. She wasn’t conscious but her chest moved ever so gently, the only sign that she was still alive.

Allison took a second in shock before she was kicking out her foot to break the circle of mountain ash that surrounded her and Erica jumped in to roll her over and check her over.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, seeing a scar on her wrists where they had been slashed over and over. “That shouldn’t be―”

She was interrupted by a loud clang against the wall from Cassie’s bullet. They both jumped back behind the cover and Allison loaded another arrow.

“ _Erica_?” she heard her name faintly over the noise. “ _Is that you_?”

“Isaac?” she said, quietly enough so that just the two of them – and any other werewolf ears – could pick up the conversation.

“ _What are you doing here_?”

“We have a plan,” she said and Allison gave her a look before she figured out what was going on.

Allison took a quick step out with her bow drawn, spotting Cal’s figure and releasing quickly. The arrow missed, only by inches, and as she was throwing her body back behind the cover he fired three quick shots towards her. Both she and Erica felt their hearts pounding as they took in heavy breaths.

“ _And what’s that exactly_? _To die_?”

“It’s saving your _ass_ actually,” Erica said through gritted teeth, trying to get a good look without getting caught in the crossfire. “And the sheriff’s on his way.”

“ _You told the sheriff_?”

“Only what he needed to know,” she said, locking eyes with Derek from across the room.

He was toying with Cal, trying to keep him distracted and away from the others until the police arrived but Cal was impatient, one arm extended with his gun at the ready while the other dug around in his bag.

“Don’t just stand there!” he barked at Cassie. “Shoot _something_!”

She was breathing quickly, eyes darting in all directions as she tried to take it all in at once.

Cal found what he was looking for, grinning down at it before putting the pin in his mouth and tossing the shell behind the crates to where Derek was standing.

“Derek, look out!” Erica yelled as she watched it through a gap in their barricade and Derek had just enough time to see it coming before it was exploding ad he was desperately trying to clamber out of the way.

He wasn’t quite fast enough.

He yelled loudly in pain as the left side of his body burned in agony. The small grenade not a powerful explosive but it was filled with some kind of acid or poison that stung his flesh and blurred his vision.

Allison stepped out again, arrow at the ready and this time when she took aim she hit her target, the tip of the arrow embedding itself in Cal’s upper arm just as he was about to face Derek in his weakened state.

He cursed and growled with his teeth set in a line, looking up with fire in his eyes as he clutched at the wound. Cassie lifted her arm and aimed at Allison and Erica snarled, her eyes glowing as she ran towards Cassie.

She jumped over a crate that was in her way just as she pulled the trigger.

Her body collided with Cassie’s and the two toppled to the floor just as Allison jolted backwards and fell to the ground from the force of the bullet.

“Allison!” Scott and Jackson yelled together.

“Get off me!” Cassie growled as she kicked and squirmed but Erica held her by her wrists, pinning her to the ground and snarling in her face.

“Erica!” Derek called, his vision still not clear as his body tried to push all the poison out.

“Erica look out!” Isaac yelled as Cal threw a knife towards her, the sharp blade embedding in her side.

She wailed in pain and recoiled, allowing Cassie to shove her away, grunting as she swung her pistol into Erica’s face. She fell backwards, pulling the knife from her side with a grimace as she growled up at Cassie.

Cal looked on for a moment with a disturbingly satisfied grin on his face before turning back to where Derek was just regaining his senses. Then for a second he stopped, a cold chill prickling his skin. He turned back to the doorway and his lips turned up in a cruel smile.

“You,” he said.

 

 

“There! Pull in there!” Karissa said as they turned onto the dirty road beside the warehouse property.

Once again Karissa was out of the car before Lydia could even take off her seatbelt and she had to run to catch up with her.

“Wait!” she said when she reached her side. “We’re waiting for the sheriff, remember?”

“Oh no, we did our part involving him. I’m going in there,” she said and both of their eyes locked on Boyd who lay on the ground.

“Boyd!” Lydia said as they ran to him.

“I’m fine,” he griped. “The bullet split, I think… I think there’s some kind of toxin in it.”

“You’re not dying?” Lydia asked.

“Well you would know wouldn’t you?” he said as he used his claw to pick out one of the fragments from his thigh.

“Not the time for jokes,” she said. “Where are you going?!” she said as Karissa started walking around the building.

“I told you, I’m going in,” she said. “By the sound of it they could use a little help.”

“You shouldn’t―” Boyd started but she cut him off.

“Do you hear that?” she said.

“What the bullets or the―” he began.

“Sirens,” she said, and in a second Lydia could hear them too. “They are almost here so the two of you wait out here to send them in after me. You can't stop me from going in there.”

They knew she was right and they nodded. She was gone in an instant and the moment she disappeared behind the back of the warehouse three police cars came speeding into view.

Karissa could hear what was going on inside, the shot being fired, the yelling and the pain of it all. She could feel the adrenaline, the white hot fury, the pain and terror from inside the building, all of it radiating out and crawling over her skin.

She tried to only take in the things that would make her stronger but with so many emotions it was hard. She took a deep breath as she approached the open door, stepping through it and almost immediately her eyes landed on Cal.

Almost as quickly, his eyes turned to her.

“You,” he said with that arrogant, slimy voice of his.

“Yeah, me,” she said as she glared over at him.

“What? Couldn’t get enough last time?” he sneered. “Oh wait, that might have been your sister.”

She felt herself seething, the anger that radiated from him poured into her and was clawing at her insides just begging to come out, but she wouldn’t let it. She refused to give this _animal_ the satisfaction.

Instead she started to do what she was built for, changing the air and he felt it hit him, hard. His eyes went wide.

“No…” he said, trying to lift his gun to point it at her.

“What’s wrong,” she drawled. “You drove all the Maeve’s out so you thought you didn’t need to take your little antidote?”

She batted her eyes and he was stuck like an animal in headlights, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t pull the trigger, her influence was too strong.

Cassie and Erica were still fighting, Cassie had the dagger from the floor now in her hand and every step closer Erica took she slashed wildly to fend her off. As Karissa walked in and had Cal stopped in his tracks she began to panic, her fingers tightening on the gun in her other hand.

For a moment she lost her focus, forgot to take a step, and Erica’s hand collided with her face, leaving to claw marks down her cheek and knocking her to the side so that her feet came out from under her and she fell to the floor with a loud thud. Her hands shook and her head pounded as she looked up, Scott the closest to her, and aimed her gun at him once more.

 

 

The cars all pulled up quickly, with two cops coming from each car and at least two ambulances pulling in closely behind them. Lydia ran over to flag down the sheriff who saw her and his eyes widened.

“Lydia what are you doing here?” he said as they ran forward.

“There’s no time for that, you need to get in there now!” she said.

He knew she was right, not stopping for anything as he drew his gun and motioned for the others to follow him to the door at the front before hearing a loud noise from inside.

“Back door, now!” he said, taking the lead as they made their way around the back and Lydia almost breathed a sigh of relief but it wasn’t over yet.

The barged through, guns drawn, just as Derek was getting to his feet, light burn marks on his skin but his face completely human as he stepped back to let them pass.

Erica had to turn her face away to hide her features as they came in, not seeing Cassie lifting her pistol.

“Drop your weapons, now!” the sheriff yelled, training his gun on Cassie along with one of his deputies while the others aimed theirs at Cal.

Karissa still had him under her seduction but he yelled out, crazy with his anger and frustration, lifting his gun and firing out at the deputies as Derek lunged in and grabbed Karissa out of the way.

Two of the shots hit one of the deputies, the force of it propelling him back as another two fired their tasers into him, causing him to yell out in a constant stream as he dropped to his knees and then to his side as he writhed on the floor in pain.

“Drop your weapon!” the sheriff yelled at Cassie.

She sobbed, eyes wet with tears as she looked over to Isaac. “I’m sorry.”

The fear that he felt in his chest at those two words was indescribable, and for a second everything ran at half speed. He waited for the sound of the trigger but instead he heard the sound of the metal hitting the concrete ground as she dropped the gun and rested her head on the floor.

It was over, it was finally over.


	49. Chapter Forty-Nine

It all happened so quickly once the situation was under control.

Even though Cal had been incapacitated by the shocks he still tried to fight back, mouth almost foaming as he growled up at them. They slapped him in handcuffs and put him in the back of one of the police vans, handcuffing him again to the inside bars.

Karissa folded her arms and felt a great sense of pleasure fill her. “I feel like this is the part where he says something like ‘and I would have gotten away with it too if you weren’t for you meddling kids’,” she said, earning the smallest of smiles from Derek.

Cassie went much more quietly, her body just going limp as they put her in cuffs and a blank expression on her face. She was pale, her neck covered in blood from the cuts on her face and one of the medics wrapped a bandage around her head to control the bleeding.

They took her out and put her in a separate car without a fuss, and she just sat there, head resting on the seat and her eyes unfocussed. It was over.

When Lydia and Boyd heard that it was over they came rushing in, Boyd was limping heavily but his leg was mostly healing. Lydia ran to Jackson, breaking the barrier and putting her hands on each side of his face and slamming her lips into him hard.

He kissed her back for only a moment before he said only one word. “Allison”.

He looked over at her but she was sitting up, pressing her palm firmly against her shoulder and giving them a grimace.

“It’s just my shoulder,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m okay.”

Boyd ran to Daisy, snarling as he tried to break the chains but he knew they were reinforced. He just lifted her, propping her up in his lap and stroking her hair back from her damp forehead.

Karissa walked over to subtly break the mountain ash barriers around Scott and Isaac while the sheriff ran quickly to Stiles, yelling for a paramedic because somewhere during the battle he had lost consciousness. Derek hovered behind him, knowing that he couldn’t push his father out of the way to get to him and the ambulance officers were arriving with a stretcher to take him away.

They managed to find some tools to break open the chains before lifting Stiles out, taking him straight to the ambulance. One of the deputies said they would take over while the sheriff got Stiles to the hospital and as they were taking him out he put a hand on Derek’s shoulder.

Derek nodded to him and they parted without a word as the sheriff followed them out. Derek would make his way to the hospital too; he knew he had to finish up here first.

Erica was checking on Allison, her skin paled down quite a lot because of the blood she had lost. The paramedics were back soon enough to check on her and reluctantly she let them take her to the hospital to check her over.

They took Daisy with them too, she was still out cold but she was alive, and they had no idea whether she was capable of healing or not.

Isaac, Scott, and Jackson were relatively unscathed, the worst of their grievances being dehydration and light poisoning, most likely from wolfsbane. As soon as Scott was free from restraints he was on his feet, his head pounding but his feet moving him quickly, trying to get to the hospital to be with the others.

Erica agreed to go with him, sharing a look with Isaac who knew he had to give him space at least until the heat dies down before trying to talk to him. So he gave her a gentle nod and she ran after him, the paramedics trying to check the three of them over bewildered as to how unharmed they were compared to Stiles.

They decided that all they needed was to take it easy and to get their friends to drive them to the hospital for a more extensive check-up but they insisted they were fine, agreeing to call the hospital if anything felt wrong, so they left them there to tend to the others. The deputies from the station still wanted to talk to them, some of them taking pictures of the scene and the others trying to talk to Isaac, seeing as he was the one who knew Cassie the best.

“I’m going to go to the hospital,” Lydia said with a weak smile. “Does anyone need a lift there?”

“You could wait for Isaac,” Derek said. “He’s still talking to the police.”

She nodded, squeezing Jackson’s hand and they shared a look.

“I’ll meet you there soon,” he said.

She headed out and back to her car and Derek walked out with her, only he was walking towards the van where Cal was being held, Jackson and Boyd following him quickly while Karissa walked slowly behind.

Derek stopped when he saw him in there, looking over to see the deputy standing nearby filling out paperwork.

He was right there, in their grasp, and all it would take would be one swift move to rid the world of a creature like him.

“All in favour of giving this guy exactly what he deserves?” Jackson said from behind him, looking just about ready to do it himself.

“We’re not killers like him,” Derek said, not denying that he wanted nothing more than to see him without a pulse. “But don’t tempt me.”

“He needs to be taught a lesson,” Boyd said.

Cal looked over at them through the open door, unable to move or break from his restraints as he glared menacingly.

“So teach him one,” Karissa said, coming up behind them.

Cal snarled, spitting in her direction and she just sneered.

“I don’t know what it is that you hate more, the fact that I’m supernatural and I managed to take down your homicidal ass, or the fact that a woman led to your downfall and you just can’t deal with it because you’re a misogynistic sociopath,” she said with a glare. “Either way you deserve worse than death, you don’t get off that easy.”

“He’s going away for life, you know that,” Boyd said.

“It’s not enough,” she said, still staring down at him.

“Just kill me,” he said. “Kill me like I killed the rest of them, if you’re going to do it then  _do it_.”

“Maybe I’ll use your method, slow and painful, drawn out and torturous,” she looked up at Derek. “Give him the punishment that’ll make his life hell.”

Jackson and Boyd looked at one another a little confused, but Derek knew. He could see it in her eyes, he knew exactly what she meant.

“Make him suffer with the thing he hates the most. Let him see himself as the monster he already is.”

All of a sudden it clicked to Jackson. “What… you mean the bite?”

Cal’s expression changed and he tugged back from them, going nowhere. “Don’t you touch me,” he snapped.

“He’ll spend the rest of his life trying to end it, and with such limited means in prison he’ll have a pretty hard time of it,” Karissa said. “Torture him the way he tortured  _them_.”

“He’s covered in blood and cuts,” Boyd said quietly. “The police are hardly going to notice a few more.”

“It’ll be gone by morning anyway,” Jackson said.

“Get away from me!” he growled.

“It’s got to be now Derek, they’ll hear him,” Karissa said.

“Do it,” Jackson said and Derek gave it one more moment to think it through before he was reaching into the car.

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled as Derek yanked his arm towards him and was sinking his fangs into his skin.

His jaw clamped down painfully hard and he shoved him back in as he pulled back.

“You filthy fucking  _mutt_!” he spat. “What have you done? What have you  _done to me_?!”

“Don’t worry so much,” Karissa said dryly. “If it fails you’ll die anyway.”

“Let’s go,” Derek said as the deputies ran towards them.

“What are you doing?” one of them asked but Derek just put up his hands and started to walk away.

Karissa stayed a moment, still staring down at Cal as the two deputies tried to coax her away from him. Derek and the others stopped to watch her.

“You killed my mother and sister, you took them from me,” she said. “I only wish that doing  _this_  would let me take something from you. Your humanity is already gone but I have no doubt that this will take your mind too, and if down the track it takes your life I will only feel satisfaction. I came back thinking your death would bring justice, but this, knowing that you’ll hate everything you’re about to become,  _this_  is justice.”

The two deputies looked up at one another in confusion, trying to pull her back but she pulled out of her grip.

“I’m going, I’m done,” she said, and they turned their attentions to Cal who was screaming obscenities and thrashing around in the back.

“Derek,” Karissa said, walking over to him and he stopped for a moment.

She put a hand on his arm and nodded, giving him a weak smile and sighing gently.

“Thank you,” she said and he put his hand over hers.

“And you,” he said.

“You should go,” she said, taking her hand back. “To the hospital, I know you want to see him.”

“You don’t need a lift somewhere?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Not this time,” she said.

“You’ll take care of yourself?”

She smiled. “I’m going to have to.”

With friendly smiles they parted, Karissa walking off in the direction of the road and Derek knew that she was gone and that if they saw her again it wouldn’t be for a long time.

“Come on,” he said to the others. “Let’s get Isaac and go.”

 

 

When they reached the hospital Scott and Erica were in the waiting room. Erica jumped up and threw her arms around Isaac, finally being able to react to seeing him again and knowing just how hard it must have been for him.

She had given Scott a hug too as soon as she saw him at the hospital, it seemed to calm him down a little. He hadn’t said a word since they arrived.

“How are they?” Lydia asked, looking from Erica to Scott.

“Well, Allison’s getting prepped for surgery, it was just her shoulder which was really lucky. Her dad’s on his way,” she said with a tentative look up to Derek. “And the sheriff’s in with the doctors now talking about Stiles. They wouldn’t let us in to see him.”

“And Daisy?” Boyd asked.

“I… I don’t know much about her, they won't really tell us anything,” she said.

Just as she finished speaking Melissa McCall came barging in through the doors.

“Scott!” she said, her voice filed with relief as she ran to him and pulled him into her arms.

She squeezed him so tightly that she was cutting off his breathing but he didn’t care, he wound his arms around her waist and held her tightly.

Derek heard someone clear their throat behind him and turned slowly to see Chris standing there looking at him with a blank expression.

“I would punch you, I would do a hell of a lot more than that if I thought that you could have done anything to stop her getting involved in this,” he said and Derek just nodded. “Lucky for you, I very highly doubt she would have listened had you told her to stay out of it.”

“I understand,” Derek said, stepping aside to let Chris past so he could head over to the desk to ask about his daughter.

“Well that went about as well as any of us could have thought,” Jackson said.

“I think we should get the three of you some water,” Lydia said, tapping Erica’s arm and pointing to the vending machine. “We’ll be back, sit down.”

Jackson rolled his eyes but did so anyway, his healing quick but his body still aching all over.

Melissa had finally let go of Scott and she turned to pull Isaac into a tight embrace. He froze for a moment before resting his cheek on her shoulder and putting his arms around her. He looked up and locked eyes with Scott for just a moment before he was turning away from him.

Isaac sighed, he knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“I swear to god if  _either_  of you do this to me again I will find you and kill you myself,” she said. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“We’re okay mom,” Scott said. “It’s over, I just want Stiles to be okay.”

She sighed, walking over to him and putting a hand on his cheek. “I’ll go see what I can find out, okay? Don’t you dare move.”

Erica and Lydia came back with water, handing the three boys two bottles each. Isaac took a sip of one and only then did he realise just how thirsty he was. He downed both bottles in under a minute.

Everything about him hurt, not just physically but emotionally, the whole ordeal had been exhausting. He kept shooting looks at Scott but it seemed like he was deliberately avoiding his gaze.

After a while the Sheriff came walking out with Melissa and it seemed like they all stood up to look at him.

“He’s stable,” he said and it was like the whole back let out a collective sigh. “He’s severely dehydrated and he’s exhausted so they’re going to keep him a few days until all his vitals are back up. Otherwise it’s just a bit of bruising.”

“But he’s okay?” Scott said.

“Yeah, he’s going to be okay. He’s sedated for now, to give him some time to sleep.”

“I’ll make sure to check on him every chance I get when I start my shift,” Melissa said with a warm smile.

“If any of you haven’t spoken to one of my deputies I’d like you to give a statement. I know you’ve just been through a lot but we need to make sure we know all the details,” he said.

“Whatever you need,” Derek said softly.

The sheriff gave him a tired smile, walking past him and giving him a tap on the shoulder as he made his way to the desk to sign some paperwork.

“This is over right?” Melissa said quietly. “There’s no more residual werewolf activity going on is there?”

“No mom,” Scott said. “It’s over.”

“Thank god,” she said with a heavy sigh.

“Mrs McCall?” Boyd said, standing tentatively with Erica by his side. “I was just wondering if you heard anything about the other girl who came in with us, Daisy?”

“I haven’t no, but I start in a couple of hours so I’ll make sure to check on her then,” she said with a warm smile, reaching out to put her hand on his arm and he just nodded.

“Are you going to call Deaton?” Jackson asked Derek and he sighed, turning to Melissa.

“Do you think we could get him in to see Daisy?” he said and Boyd gave him an appreciative look.

“I should be able to get you some time,” she said.

“I’ll call him,” Derek said. “And I want him to talk to the three of you too.”

“We’re fine Derek,” Isaac said quietly.

“That’s not for you to decide,” he said.

Derek stood in the corner of the waiting room as he called Deaton, who agreed to come down as soon as he could finish at the clinic.

The sheriff walked over to them all and sighed heavily.

“If you want to come in and see Stiles you better do it now,” he said. “Visiting hours will be over soon.”

Scott stood up quickly and Erica was hot on his heels, Derek followed slowly behind them as the sheriff led the way.

Jackson was trying to catch Isaac’s gaze as he sat in one of the chairs. He wasn’t even looking. His eyes were following Scott and he knew he had to let him go up to see Stiles on his own first, he would have time later.

Lydia kissed Jackson’s forehead before she followed them in.

Jackson got up quickly to sit next to Isaac.

“We have to tell Deaton,” he said so quietly that he hoped not even Boyd would hear as he finally decided to go in with the rest of them.

Isaac turned to look at him, “Tell him what exactly?”

“Don’t give me that, you know exactly what,” Jackson said, looking over to Melissa who was talking to one of the nurses nearby. “Scott, what happened in that warehouse.”

“We don’t even know what we saw,” he said.

“ _You_ might be in denial but I’m not,” Jackson said. “His eyes turned red Isaac,  _red_. That’s not normal.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“So let’s ask him then, see if he knows  _why_  it happened.”

“It was probably just a stress thing, it was a pretty difficult situation to―”

“So why didn’t it happen to you then? Or me?” he snapped. “If something is wrong don’t you think he deserves to know something? Or are you just planning to pretend it never happened and never tell him about it?”

Isaac sighed, he hated to admit it but Jackson was right. “Alright, we’ll ask him.”

“Good,” Jackson said.

 

The sheriff led them up towards Stiles’ room, shaking his head a little because he never would have imagined Stiles having so many people around him. Still, he knew that he would want them all there at least for a little while just to know that he was okay.

Either that or he’d want some peace and quiet.

He stopped in the doorway and let them go through, standing at his bedside and all bearing sighs of relief.

Derek was the last one to approach the door and the sheriff stopped him for a moment.

“You know,” he began and Derek just stopped to listen. “When I think about the fact that you were down at that warehouse, and all these kids, I want to yell. I want to yell because making decisions like that never end well… but you never gave up, and I think I’ve probably yelled at you more than I should have already.”

Derek turned his eyes away a little and the sheriff put a hand on his arm.

“He’s lucky to have someone fighting for him as hard as you are,” he said. “So I’m not going to yell. I’m just going to thank you, for fighting for him.”

Derek looked up, nodding a little. “I’m sorry he keeps ending up here.”

The sheriff smiled. “It’s not your fault Derek, he was in here a lot more when he was a toddler, and then again after his mom died because every bump on the head I thought would end up giving him an aneurism. It’s not your fault. If anyone’s likely to make multiple trips to the hospital it’s my son. I mean, you’ve met him right?”

Derek managed to crack a smile onto his lips because Stiles  _was_  incredibly clumsy and accident prone, and he  _was_ in the hospital, but he was also getting better. He looked in to see the others standing around him, the relief on their faces just as great as the relief he was feeling inside.

He just watched from the doorway for a moment, knowing that they’d give him time. And he was happy to let them have their moments first because Stiles wasn’t going anywhere, at least for a while yet.

Melissa walked up to Stiles’ room and looked in, tapping Boyd gently on the shoulder and nodding out with her head.

He followed her and she gave him a warm smile.

“I talked to one of the other nurses,” she said. “Your friend Daisy is just across the hall if you want to go see her.”

“Really?” he asked.

“I can't tell you much about her condition but you can go in if you like, it’s number thirty-six,” she smiled and he nodded quickly, making his way over there.

Erica looked up at Scott. “Do you think we should let the twins know that Daisy’s alive?”

“Probably,” he said, looking down at Stiles who lay in bed so quiet and still. “They’re probably still in hiding.”

“I guess I’ll call Aiden then,” she said, taking out her phone and giving them all a warning look. “Don’t say a word.”

As she made the call Boyd found his way to the room, opening the door slowly and peering in. Daisy lay in the bed closest to the door, IV in her arm and a mask over her lips to keep up the oxygen flow.

He sat down in the chair beside her, reaching out to take her hand in his. Even though she was unconscious he thought maybe it would help and after all, he’d thought she was dead. It was like waking up to know that she was still alive.

The sheriff made his way downstairs to work through some paperwork for Stiles, crumpling into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh as he got started. It felt like he hadn’t slept in days and if he was honest, he probably hadn’t.

As he buried his face in the clipboard of forms Deaton walked into the waiting room and Isaac and Jackson stood up to meet him.

“Well I’m certainly glad to see the two of you,” he said. “How are you both feeling?”

“We’re fine, just tired and hungry,” Jackson said. “You might want to check on Scott, he was the one who got stabbed but he seemed to heal fine.”

“Is he here?” Deaton asked.

“He’s up with Stiles now,” Isaac said quietly.

“I should probably get up there too,” he said. “I believe there’s another werewolf Derek wants me to look at?”

“Daisy, yeah I think she’s somewhere upstairs,” Isaac said.

“Okay, well if you need anything―”

“We need to talk to you about something,” Jackson said and Deaton tilted his head a little as he looked over at him. “About Scott.”

Deaton switched his gaze between the two of them, seeing the worry on their faces and ushering them towards a quiet corner.

“Has something happened?” he asked quietly.

“I guess you could say that,” Isaac said.

“They had us trapped in mountain ash and chained up so there was no getting out,” Jackson said, eyes darting to Isaac for a moment. “But the girl who had us there riled him up a bit and he… he tried to fight against the barrier.”

Deaton was listening intently, trying to figure out what it was that they were trying to ask or say.

“It wasn’t for long but he, he just―” Isaac started.

“His eyes turned red,” Jackson said, cutting him off. “There was a minute where his eyes were red, like Derek’s.”

Deaton didn’t say anything for a moment, he just thought about it. Could it be?

“Cassie said something when it happened, like she knew something about what was happening to him,” Isaac said.

“She said it couldn’t be because he was just a beta,” Jackson added. “Do you have any idea what could explain it?”

He sighed, “I do, but I would have to look into it a little more. Does he know?”

Jackson looked to Isaac who shrugged and turned his gaze to the floor. “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”

“Let me speak to him,” he said. “It’ll give me a better idea about this.”

“Well what do you think it is?” Jackson asked.

“I’ve never seen it,” he began. “But I’ve heard of something that can happen to betas like Scott, ones who are true of character and heart. I really think I should talk to Scott first.”

“And Derek?” Jackson said.

“Perhaps,” Deaton said before they pointed him in the direction of the rooms and he gave them a reassuring nod as he left.

“What does that even mean, betas like Scott?” Jackson asked.

“Exactly what he said,” Isaac’s eyes were still looking down, this time at his hands. “He’s pure, and good, he’s…”

“Alright I get it, you love the guy,” Jackson said with a sigh. “Let’s just hope that whatever this is leads us to better things and not more freaking bloodshed.”

“Yeah, that sounds pretty good right about now,” he said, sitting down in the chair just waiting for Scott to come back through the doors.

 

 

After what had been a very long afternoon and a decent length of time at Stiles’ bedside the group decided it best to head back down and give Derek some time alone with him.

Erica had called Aiden and the twins were making their way down to see Daisy, probably before visiting hours closed.

Derek waited for the last of them to filter out before stepping into the room, looking down at Stiles as he slept and letting out a heavy sigh as he walked in to sit beside him. He reached out to brush his fingers against his cheek and felt a smile spread over his lips.

He was safe,  _finally_ , he was safe.

He ran his fingers through his hair and down behind his ear, brushing the purple marks on his neck and suppressing the anger at Cal for giving them to him. He knew that Cal was going to suffer, that the bite for him really  _was_  a curse.

Karissa was right, it would torture him to live like that and while Derek didn’t really believe torture was the way to go, he knew if anyone deserved it, it was him.

He knew that he’d end up somewhere under lock and key, and surely they’d figure out soon enough that they’d need more than just regular bars to hold him, that is if the bite takes.

He didn’t know what the outcome would be for Cassie. She wouldn’t get away with it, she was going to end up somewhere but where exactly that would be, he couldn’t tell.

His hand slipped down to take Stiles’ and he gently lifted it to his lips, closing his eyes as he planted a kiss on his knuckles. The relief he felt was indescribable.

He didn’t quite know long he’d been sitting there, it had probably only been close to ten minutes but he wasn’t going to leave until Stiles was awake, even then he had doubts about whether he would leave his side.

One thing was certain, he wasn’t going to run like he had last time, this time the only option he even considered was to stay.

He heard someone approaching from behind and turned as Deaton knocked tentatively on the door.

“How’s he doing?” he asked and Derek sighed.

“He’s dehydrated, exhausted, battered and bruised but he’ll be okay,” he said. “Did you take a look at the other three?”

“I don’t know whether stubbornness is inherent to werewolves or just teenagers,” he said with a smile and Derek actually managed to return it. “Scott seemed quite upset, though it didn’t look like there was anything physically wrong with him. A little pale maybe, but I’m sure they were using wolfsbane to subdue their strength. As far as I can tell they’ll be fine after a little rest.

“Did Isaac and Jackson say anything to you about Scott?” Deaton said.

Derek narrowed his eyes a little. “What about him?”

“Talk to them, let them tell you what they saw. It’ll be better than my second hand information,” he said. “How are you doing?”

He grunted a little.

“Moving forward,” he said.

“Peter came to see me,” he said. “He had a bullet wound to his stomach but he was keeping control remarkably well.”

“What do you mean?” Derek asked.

“I’m not sure, I never quite know whether to trust him or not.”

“When was he with you?”

“Only just before you called,” he said. “Once I answered the phone he was gone. Slippery is the word I would use.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“He asked for my help, more demanded it, and then he let me pull the pellets out of him. He didn’t say anything much at all.”

Derek sighed. “I think we need to stop trusting him, I’m almost sure he sabotaged us in some way. He’s only ever after things that benefit him.”

“He always was a tad selfish,” Deaton said. “He has a tendency to make rash decisions.”

Derek looked down to his feet for a moment. “I should probably tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I… I gave the bite to one of the hunters,” he said and Deaton’s eyes grew wide.

“You did what?” he said.

“He’s going to hate it, it’s going to―”

“I didn’t think vengeance was your style Derek,” he said.

“I didn’t do it for me, mostly,” he said, knowing that some part of him did want to torture Cal. “We couldn’t help Karissa save her mother, and then she lost her sister. She asked me to do it and this time I could.”

“If the bite doesn’t kill him…”

“I know what it’ll do to him, and you can't make me feel guilty for it,” Derek said. “He deserves to suffer.”

“Be careful Derek,” Deaton said. “Don’t let that kind of thing consume you.”

“I won't,” he said.

Deaton nodded. “Where is Daisy then? You said you wanted me to give her a look in?”

“Across the hall, Boyd is with her.”

“Okay,” he said, turning to head out the door, stopping for a moment to turn back to him. “You’re a good alpha Derek, just don’t let the power that comes with it change who you are.”

Derek just nodded and they gave one another a look as Deaton left the room to find Daisy.

He thought about Deaton’s words as he turned back to Stiles. He ran his hand over his cheek and leant in to kiss his forehead, breathing him in.

He could never get tired of that.

Boyd was standing in the doorway, looking out to see Deaton and lead him in. He’d heard most of the conversation between him and Derek.

“He made the right decision,” he said. “Unorthodox as it was, that guy killed so many like us. They used Daisy like a test subject, look at her.”

Deaton walked over to give her a look, brows furrowing in confusion as he noticed her scars. He ran his finger over the one on her wrist before feeling her pulse.

“I’ve never seen scars like these before, burns yes, but not this kind,” he said. “They may have figured out a way to slow her healing, even pause it. I’d like to take a sample of her blood before whatever is in her system is filtered out.”

“I’ll watch the door,” he said, standing guard.

Deaton pulled a sealed syringe out of his bag and took a sample before taking out a small torch to check her eyes.

“Is she going to be okay?” Boyd asked quietly.

“As far as I can tell, yes,” he said, putting his instruments away. “But if she doesn’t wake up within a few days then we can start to worry.”

He looked up to see the worry on Boyd’s face and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Her breathing sounds good, and her pulse is strong, whatever they did to her, she’s stronger.”

Boyd nodded, and Deaton looked down at his leg.

“Would you like me to take a look at that?” he asked and Boyd looked down with a shrug.

“I got most of the pellets out, it stung a lot but I think it healed okay,” he said.

“May I?” he said and Boyd sat down in the chair by the bed, tearing open the hole in his jeans a little more.

There was blood on his jeans and Deaton crouched down to take a look, his skin was relatively clear, just some dried blood.

“I expect it was the same bullet that Peter had in his side, it separates on impact. You seemed to have pulled out all the pieces,” he said. “You’re lucky, there wasn’t any kind of toxin on the bullets or else you’d be showing some kind of symptoms.”

“I figured as much,” he said. “You’ll call me if you see anything in―”

“I will let you know the moment I do,” he said.

Boyd gave him another nod, turning back to Daisy as Deaton left the room. Even if it was visiting hours he wasn’t openly close to any of them and he didn’t want to make any of the hospital staff suspicious. Besides, he thought he might have to make sure Cal was properly retrained if the bite happened to take.

Over the years he had made contacts in all sorts of places.

Isaac waited down in the lobby, sitting in one of the chairs and fidgeting with his fingers like he was counting them over and over to make sure they were still attached. Jackson looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Dude, relax, it’s over now,” he said, the tension in the air around him obvious.

Isaac sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of…”

He saw some of the others come in from upstairs, all but Boyd and Derek, sitting down in the waiting room chairs with tired eyes. Lydia sat down by Jackson and he put his head on her shoulder, letting her stroke her fingers through his hair.

When Scott walked in Melissa went to see him, pulling him into her arm again.

“I’ve got some time before my shift if you want me to take you home,” she said. “Stiles will probably be out until at least tomorrow morning and Allison’s got a while left in surgery.”

He nodded quietly. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’ll go get the car, okay? See if anyone else wants a lift, I’m happy to do some drop offs,” she smiled, a hand on his cheek and he nodded again as she left the waiting room.

Isaac and Scott locked eyes and after barely a moment, Scott looked away, walking through the room and straight past him.

He couldn’t just let him walk out without saying anything.

Isaac got up, following him out into the parking lot.

“Scott! Scott wait!” he called.

Scott stopped, turning slowly to face him.

“Just let me talk to you, please,” he said. “About what happened.”

“You mean how you offered to leave?” he said coldly. “I think you were pretty clear.”

“Scott, I… What I said in there, I never wanted to hurt you with them,” he said. “I know that’s hard for you to believe because I knew they were going to hurt you when I said them, but you have to know I was trying to―”

“To what Isaac?” he said. “To save us?”

“We didn’t know if the others were coming or not,” Isaac said. “I had to try something and that way I knew I could―”

“You could get  _everyone_  out of there,” he said, looking down at his feet. “The only thing you could think of to save her too.”

“I was thinking about  _you_  Scott,” he said. “If I could get everyone out of there safe then it didn’t matter what else happened.”

“You sounded pretty clear in there.”

“I  _never_  meant it when I said that what you and I have is just a wolf thing,” Isaac said. “You know that’s just not true. I only said it because it was the only way I thought she’d listen to me.”

“Listen to you and what? Run away with you?” Scott asked, throwing his hands up. “Do whatever it was that you two always talked about?”

“Everything I said in there was me trying to get all of us out,” he said.

“You said if you’d known what this was like then maybe you wouldn’t have taken the bite,” Scott said. “You said that after telling her that I was your trigger.”

Isaac looked down at his feet, the hurt and anger in Scott’s words made him ache inside.

“I’m sorry Scott, I had to say it, I needed to get her on my side if it was going to work,” he said.

“And what you said about not remembering that night in Denver?”

Isaac froze for a moment, looking up at him. “I… I don’t―”

“You never told me that you lost time or that you  _forgot_ ,” he said. “You told me part of the truth but left  _that_ out, why? Is it because you didn’t trust yourself enough to know you wouldn’t do anything?”

“No I… I knew I couldn’t I just―”

“So why didn’t you tell me?” Scott asked. “Why didn’t you just say that you couldn’t remember?”

“I didn’t want to lose you…” he said softly.

“But you’re willing to run away from  _everything_  to what? Save us?”

“I―”

“You say you don’t want to lose me but then you said that leaving was the only way you could think of to save us? And you were  _willing_ to do it?”

“It was different!”

“How?”

“Back then there was no reason why us being apart would have made any difference, it would have just been another two people going their separate ways. It happens every day,” he said. “In that warehouse my leaving could have meant the difference between some of us living and dying, and  _I_  had the chance to help you. I said a lot of things I didn’t mean in there but I meant it when I said I would leave if she let you all go.”

Scott shook his head a little, looking away.

“I felt responsible enough for what happened anyway, she was my friend and I led her and Cal right to us,” Isaac said. “If I could have made it right then I would have. If leaving with her meant that I never saw you again but I knew that at least you were alive then yeah, I’d do it again. I can't imagine living without you but trying to imagine a world where you don’t even exist… I can't even try to imagine that.

“If I had to leave with her and be miserable but at least know that you were alive then I could have lived with that, but I know I could  _never_  live with the guilt if you’d died in there.”

Scott thought for a minute, looking up with sad eyes. “Would you be though?”

“What?”

“It keeps playing over in my head and I can't help but wonder if… would you really be miserable with her?”

Isaac just stared at him, his heart pounding rapidly and a knot forming in his stomach, “Scott…”

“Would you really have been giving it all up or… I can't help thinking that you could have been happy, that maybe part of you wanted to run,” he said sadly and Isaac shook his head.

“Scott, no… Scott I love―”

“I can't…” he said, putting his hand up to stop him. “I can't do this right now, I have to go home, get some rest, get some space.”

Isaac nodded solemnly, biting down on his lip and nodding a little.

“I just need some time to think about everything, okay?” he said, his eyes not meeting Isaac’s.

“How much time do you need?” he asked quietly.

“Just… I don’t know,” he said, turning away as Melissa pulled up in the car.

Isaac just watched him walk back to the car without even a glace up at him once he climbed into the passenger seat, Melissa looking from one boy to the other.

“Let’s just go home,” he said softly and she nodded.

Isaac watched as the car drove out of the parking lot and he was left standing on the hospital steps with a gaping hole in his chest that not even its doctors could fix.


	50. Chapter Fifty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: A gay slur is used within this chapter. Only occurs once.

Isaac walked back into the hospital waiting room, slumping down into one of the chairs with a vacant expression on his face.

It couldn’t all be over, not like this.

They’d had fights before but this one felt different.

Erica came and sat down beside him, giving him a look.

“You okay?” she asked.

He thought about nodding, about saying that he was fine, but even without her werewolf senses she would have known it to be a lie.

“No,” he said softly.

She put a hand on his knee and gave him a weak smile.

“I don’t know what happened in there, but you can always talk to me about it,” she said.

Isaac sighed. “I know, it’s just the two people I would talk to in this situation are Scott and Stiles.”

“One who won't talk to you and another who can't?” she asked and he looked up at her. “Scott didn’t really seem like he wanted to talk to anyone, but the way you two looked at another…”

“That bad huh?” he said.

“Not what you wanted to hear, was it?”

“Not really.”

She sighed a little.

“It feels kind of selfish, wanting to talk to Stiles about our own crap while he’s up there in a hospital bed,” she said.

“What’s worse is he’d probably still listen to it all the minute he woke up,” he said.

“Is it weird that even I need to talk to him about something?” Jackson said, listening in unintentionally.

“What do _you_ have to talk to who about?” Lydia asked, looking up at him from her spot on his shoulder.

He looked down at her a moment, wondering how the hell he was supposed to tell her what she was. Cassie had only said it in front of him and Stiles, and he needed to know how to even breach the subject.

“Stiles, it’s just that some stuff happened in there,” he said.

“I doubt Derek will be going anywhere tonight,” Erica said. “I think Boyd said he’s waiting for Ethan and Aiden to come and see Daisy.”

“They’re on their way?” Jackson asked.

“I left a message,” Erica said. “Aiden didn’t pick up.”

“Better hope they’re screening them,” Lydia said.

“They better be,” Erica said.

“We should get you home,” Lydia said, her hand on Jackson’s knee.

He sighed but nodded. “Yeah okay.”

“We’ll come back down in the morning to see how Stiles and Allison are,” she said and Jackson gave her a look.

“Wait, what day is it?” Jackson asked and Lydia gave him a warm smile.

“Saturday,” she said.

“I think I had a chemistry report due yesterday,” he said.

“I’m sure they’ll give you an extension,” she said.

Isaac watched as they made their way out and he sighed. He didn’t know if he could face going back to Derek’s place alone, but he didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“You going to stay here?” Erica asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just… I don’t…”

“You could come and stay at my house,” she said. “There’s not a lot of room but my mom won't even notice.”

He looked up and gave her a weak smile. She leant her head against his and he sighed.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I know we’re not exactly _best_ friends, but you’re still my pack, and I care about you,” she said.

“Thanks Erica,” he said.

“Come on, if we can't catch Lydia and Jackson then we’ll have to walk to my place.”

She stood up and held out her hand to help him up. He followed her out but didn’t say anything more, he didn’t feel like talking. He didn’t feel like anything much at all.

 

Melissa had tried to talk to Scott when they got home but he was silent and tight-lipped, trudging off to his room as soon as they got in the door. She saw the look on Isaac’s face as they left, she just wanted to know that they were both okay.

She wished she could stay with him, she even knew that her boss would probably give her the night off if she asked, but she knew her son and if he didn’t want to talk she couldn’t force him to do it. He’d talk to her when he felt ready.

So she let him have his space, heading off to the hospital.

When she got there most of the teenagers had cleared out. Boyd was still in the room with Daisy and Melissa said she’d let him stay past the close of visiting hours, she should at least have someone with her.

She made her way to Stiles’ room to check in and saw the sheriff sitting in the chair by his side. As she walked in the door she noticed Derek asleep in the chair on the other side and she smiled.

The sheriff looked up at her, bags under his eyes and a tired expression on his face.

“Hey, how you doing?” she asked, walking in to put a hand on his shoulder.

“As long as he’s getting better… then I'm great,” he said.

“He’s still here huh?” she said.

He nodded, hand brushing over Stiles’ arm. “I don’t think I could get him to leave even if I wanted him to.”

“At least he’s getting some sleep,” she said. “You know you should probably do that too.”

“I’ve got some paperwork to―”

“ _You_ , have got a son in recovery and two criminals in custody,” she said. “You did your job now take care of yourself. You can go back to it tomorrow but tonight you should get a good night’s sleep.”

“I don’t want to leave him here, I know I'm already here later than I'm supposed to be,” he sighed.

“I’ll sort something out, we have bedrooms spare for parents with kids in overnight. You need to rest.”

“What about Derek?”

“Let him sleep, I’ll keep an eye on them all. I’m sure the rest of them will be back in the morning, Allison should be in recovery by then.”

“She’s doing alright?”

“She’s going to need a little bit of physiotherapy but nothing too serious,” she said.

He sighed. “Maybe I should take you up on that offer for some sleep. I’ll need to go down to the station tomorrow, they’re going to be getting statements from the two of them and I should be there.”

“At least this is one case solved,” she said.

“You never want it to be kids as young as them,” he said. “I mean I know they’re impressionable but I can't imagine why anyone would go around killing and kidnapping people, especially their friends.”

She squeezed his shoulder a little harder. “I know. I’ll go and see if we can get you somewhere to sleep.”

“Thanks,” he said.

He looked back over at his son, despite the tubes and bruising he looked like he was just sleeping, and he was probably catching up on the many hours of it he had missed.

One of the other nurses had come in the see Boyd when Melissa was seeing another patient and told him that he couldn’t stay in the room. He was incredibly insistent but found himself sitting in the waiting room anyway.

“Honey you should go home, come back early,” Melissa said when she saw him. “I’ll keep an eye on her, I’m pretty sure they’re about to kick Derek out of Stiles’ room too.”

“I’m okay here,” he said. “She shouldn’t be alone.”

She put a hand on his shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything, alright?”

He just smiled and she headed off to other things.

It wasn’t long after that Derek came down from the patient rooms looking frustrated and sat by Boyd’s side. He asked him about Allison and Daisy and the two of them may have gotten a few hours of sleep as the night turned slowly into morning.

 

The sheriff headed out early after Derek promised to call if there was any change in Stiles’ condition. With two apprehended criminals down in holding at the station, he had work to do. Besides, if he went back to Stiles without at least some information to give him he’d never hear the end of it.

Boyd and Derek were still in the waiting room when visiting hours started again and the two of them were straight up to the patient floor. They both went into Stiles’ room first. He was looking better.

He had a little more colour in his cheeks but he was still sleeping. With any luck he would be awake later in the day.

Boyd went to check on Daisy after, there wasn’t much change in her either. Chris came by early after being in with Allison. She was recovering well, a little sore, but all she seemed to want was to know how her friends were doing.

Most of the others didn’t come down until later.

Jackson and Scott both slept for longer than they meant to, apparently they’d lost more sleep than they had realised. Lydia came in early to see Allison.

Isaac woke up after a bad night’s sleep on Erica’s couch, and it wasn’t the quality of the cushions that had him restless. She had offered him her bed but he knew it wouldn’t matter; he was going to be tossing and turning the whole time.

He wondered if Scott had been the same, wondered how much he thought of him because he was sure that not a minute had gone by where he hadn’t had Scott on his mind.

Erica walked in when she woke up, squeezing herself into the space on the couch by Isaac’s feet.

“You look like shit,” she said affectionately and he actually managed a smile.

“You don’t exactly look like a supermodel yourself,” he croaked.

“That’s a lie and you know it,” she smiled, pulling her pyjama-clad legs up onto the seat with her. “You heard anything from Scott?”

He just sighed, turning his head to the side and trying not to let himself look as wounded as he felt.

“I keep thinking that this is going to be one of our normal fights, that he’s going to call me and things will go back to the way they were before. It’s different this time…” he said softly. “I did something and I don’t know if he’s going to be able to get past it.”

“Was what you did so unforgivable?” she asked.

“I said to him once that I was scared of people around me dying or leaving,” he said. “He promised he wouldn’t leave. He said he wouldn’t leave unless it was to save my life…”

“You offered to leave with Cassie didn’t you?”

Isaac sat up to look at her and she gave him a warm look. “How did you―”

“When I found out it was her I knew there was only one person who would have a shot at talking her down,” she said. “I didn’t spend a lot of time with her but we had a long car ride back from Denver, she barely asked about anything else but you.”

He looked down at his hands as he fidgeted with them, not saying much at all.

“You know when I think about it, she was probably the one who spiked the punch, trying to figure out which ones would fall for it,” she said.

“She seemed so surprised though…” he said quietly. “When we woke up, tied with the chains… she just lost it. She couldn’t have known until then.”

“Maybe she just refused to believe it,” Erica said. “It’s easy to be blind to the things we don’t want to see. We were blind too, why would we ever have looked at her to be behind this?”

“What would she have spiked it with? Wolfsbane? She said she didn’t remember anything and then… maybe it was a bluff…” he muttered to himself as things started to come back to him from the time in their capture.

Most of it had become a fast blur in his mind.

“What do you mean?”

He looked up at her and sighed. “Just something…”

“You know, when you asked me to trade cars with you in Denver I was going to say no, no way. I didn’t want to spend eight hours or whatever in a car with a girl I probably had nothing in common with. But you asked and you looked so damn desperate and I just thought… I knew something had to have happened between the two of you. I mean I woke up with you in the bed that morning, something had to be up. So… maybe you want to tell me what that was?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve lost an hour in my timeline and it’s just never come back.”

She exhaled heavily and tapped him on the thigh.

“Well, that sucks.”

“That was helpful.”

“Well what do you want me to do? Reach into your head and pull out your memories?” she asked sarcastically.

Before he bit back at her with some kind of snarky comment his mind wrapped itself around those words and an idea came to him.

He said he would never do it, that the day he needed his help would never come, but it was the only way.

“I have to do something,” he said suddenly and Erica gave him a strange look as he jumped off the couch.

“What? Where are you going?” she asked.

“There _is_ one person I know who can do that,” he said. “Peter.”

“No, no you can't go to him,” Erica said. “We don’t even know where he went after yesterday. I think he’s got something to hide and I don’t trust him.”

“What choice do I have? I need to know what happened.”

“Scott will forgive you even if you never remember it,” she said. “You know him.”

“You didn’t see his face.”

“I did, and it was completely devastated, but he cares about you and you really think he’s going to let _this_ be the end?”

“Maybe, but it’s not just about him. I need to do this for myself.”

She sighed. “Fine, call Peter, but he’s not going to want to do you any favours for free.”

“I’ll think of something,” he said.

“Did you want me to come with you?” she offered. “Moral support and an extra barrier between you and the friendly sociopath?”

“I can do it alone, you should go to the hospital, tell me how they’re all doing.”

She grumbled a little, folding her arms over her chest. “I swear to god if you sell your soul to him for a few minutes of information you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

“You say that like he’s Satan,” he said with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Satan in a V-neck,” she said.

He managed a small chuckle and reached for his phone. There were no missed calls or messages, which hurt, so he looked up Peter’s number and hit dial.

 

 

Derek sat in the chair beside Stiles, staring down at him. The doctors had come in earlier and taken out his tubes and double checked his stats. They assured him that he would be awake some time that afternoon.

Derek had called the sheriff to let him know and he said he would be down in a few hours. They were still in the process of interrogating Cassie and Cal down at the station.

He stroked his hair gently, watching the way his chest rose and fell slowly with each breath. He heard Scott before he saw him.

He hovered in the doorway a moment before taking a few slow steps in to walk around to the other side of the bed.

“How is he?” he asked.

“Should be up and back to his sarcastic self in a few hours,” he said, looking up at him. “Did you sleep alright?”

Scott looked up at him like he might have something to say that was more than Derek asked for in the question.

“Not really, I thought being a werewolf meant waking up without the aches and pains the next day,” he said with a weak smile.

“Usually it does… when the wounds are physical,” he said as he looked back down at Stiles.

Scott’s mouth dropped open a little before he was snapping it shut with haste. He turned his head away with a furrowed brow.

“I don’t seem interested in everyone’s business but it doesn’t mean I don’t hear or see what goes on,” he said and Scott just sighed. “I don’t care about it, but I notice it.”

“How’s Stiles?” he asked, completely dodging his line of conversation.

If he was honest, Derek was glad for it, even if he had to repeat himself.

“I already told you,” he said, looking up and making Scott’s cheeks flush.

“Right,” he said.

“I’m not going to ask you any questions about it, so don’t get awkward,” he said. “I might ask you about what happened when you were in there but not about anything else.”

Scott sighed and sat down in one of the chairs against the wall. “Thanks.”

“So you want to tell me what happened when you got in there?”

“I tried to talk to them, after they called me―”

“That was kind of stupid.”

Scott gave him an exasperated look. “I _tried_ at least, how was I supposed to know whether they would or wouldn’t kill anyone if I told the rest of you about it?”

“Just keep going.”

“Anyway, it got… interrupted by Isaac, and then they managed to grab us somehow. All I remember after that was waking up in chains and in a circle of ash and Cassie was there, playing some kind of emotional mind games on…” he sighed and shrugged. “I guess not a lot happened after that.”

“I’ll ask Jackson later,” he said. “Clearly you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Can you just for once try to be understanding?” he snapped and Derek raised an eyebrow.

He stared at him for a moment before turning back to Stiles, running his hands down his arm to take his hand.

“Sorry,” Scott mumbled.

“Don’t apologise to me, just sort yourself out before you say or do something you’ll regret,” he said. “Believe me.”

“I know, I know,” he said. “I just don’t know how to do it.”

Derek sighed. “Take some time and figure it out.”

“That doesn’t―”

“Take the time you need and figure out what it is that you want, or what you’re willing to forgive or forget. Figure out what _you_ want, you can't do that if people are telling you what to do.”

“How do I know when I’ve figured it out?” Scott asked. “What if I never figure it out?”

“You will, but if you take too long you might have to work something else out. People won't wait forever,” he said, eyes turning back to Stiles.

If he had of stayed away any longer last year then maybe he wouldn’t still have Stiles. His body ached with the thought of it and he knew that the same ache was probably lodged inside Scott. The only difference was that Derek had almost full certainty about his future with Stiles, Scott was trying to fight with how he felt and his future with Isaac was suddenly unclear.

Derek’s ears picked up the sound of two pairs of feet and his nose twitched with the familiar scent, wolves.

He turned his head to the door and Scott did the same, the two of them getting up and striding quickly to the hall. The moment they stepped out Ethan and Aiden came into view and they saw Boyd step out of Daisy’s room and into the hall to block the doorway.

Aiden caught Derek’s eye and walked up to him.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

His eyes didn’t look threatening, they didn’t look like a man ready to pick a fight, but a man wrought with worry, scared for his friend. Ethan wasn’t far behind him, an almost identical look in his eye.

“We don’t want to give you any trouble we just was to see her,” Ethan said. “She’s _our_ pack, not yours.”

Derek looked up and Boyd and then back to them. “She’s in there, lucky they decided to keep her alive.”

“They’re in the jail right? We could go in there and rip their throats out, see how they like it,” Aiden growled.

“They got what they deserved,” Derek said. “Believe me.”

“She’s in here,” Boyd said from across the hall and they walked away from Derek to follow him in.

They strode in through the doors and Boyd stood aside to let them walk over to the bed and see her.

She was paler than usual, her hair a ratty mess but her face had been cleaned up a little since she had been admitted. The twins’ eyes immediately dropped to the scars on her neck and arms, looking up at Boyd with suspicion.

“What the hell?” Ethan asked, more out of confusion than accusation.

“We found her with them, I don’t know what they did to her in there but they don’t look like they’re fading,” he said.

“We can’t get scars…” Aiden said softly.

“Those people, the ones who did this, they’re going away forever right?” Ethan asked, looking up at Boyd who just sighed.

“They better be, they killed a lot of people,” he said. “When we find out I can let you know.”

“Thanks,” Aiden said.

“I can’t believe she’s alive,” Ethan said, a small smile breaching his lips before his face turned hard. “I swear if they don’t wind up rotting in a filthy prison cell I’ll get in there and make sure they regret what they’ve done.”

“I’m sure they’re going to get what’s coming,” Boyd said, sincerely hoping it was true.

 

 

The sheriff was down at the station, eyes and body tired but there was work to be done. They were interrogating Cassie first, her face heavily bandaged and her spirit thoroughly broken.

She sat on the other side of the desk, eyes unfocussed and hands in chains on top of the table. One of the deputies was already sat before her when the sheriff walked in, reports in his hands and a stern look on his face.

“So,” he said as he sat down. “Where do you want to start?”

She looked up slowly, one side of her face puffed up and her watery eyes finally focussing on the sheriff.

“He wasn’t supposed to be there,” she said in barely a murmur. “It wasn’t him…”

“Wasn’t who?” he asked.

“Stiles…” she said, looking down at her hands.

The deputy looked over at the sheriff who was trying to keep his cool.

“So why don’t we start with Stiles,” he said through his teeth. “ _You_ took him?”

“We changed the coding on the cameras,” she said. “It’s on the laptop.”

“What cameras?” he asked.

“Here, we took him…”

The two officers looked at one another and the deputy spoke up. “You disabled our cameras?”

“It was all part of the plan, we were making it better…” her voice shook and her gaze was dropping in and out of focus. “It was all to make it better…”

“How about we start on a bigger scale,” the deputy said. “How many people have you killed?”

She looked up at him with watery eyes.

“He gave me one,” she said. “But he was right… I couldn’t… I should have…”

“Who? Your partner? He gave you someone to kill?”

“They were monsters, all of them,” she whispered. “That’s what _he_ said, why would he lie?”

The sheriff looked over at his deputy again and he knew they weren’t going to get much out of her.

“I think we need to get the psych down here,” he said quietly.

“They were _monsters_!” she yelled suddenly, slamming her hands and the chains down into the desk.

The two of them watched her as she stared at one and then the other with a frantic panic in her eyes.

“I always knew they were real but _no one believed me_!” she screamed and the deputy got up to call for the psychologist. “He was the only one… and then he was _one of them_!”

She winced in pain and hung her head, crying out a little and reaching up to her face. The sheriff saw a spot of blood begin to seed through the fabric of her bandage and he put up a hand to stop her from moving.

“Calm down,” he said quietly, standing up from his seat.

“Just get away from me!” she yelled, thrashing in her chair and pulling at the chains, a trickle of blood coming from the bottom of the bandage.

The sheriff ran around to grab her, trying to keep her still but she was wailing loudly and writhing against him.

“Can I get a medic in here!” he yelled.

They finally came running in, one helping the sheriff to hold her down while the other took out a sedative shot and injected it into her arm. It didn’t take long before she was slowing in their arms and her screaming had become nothing but a quiet sobbing.

Her head lolled and the tears fell, her numbing lips whispering softly. “I’m sorry… tell him I'm sorry…”

Her eyelids fluttered closed and the sheriff backed off to let the medics check her over. Her stitches had burst and after a quick consult with the psychologist they decided to keep her sedated until it had healed more and that they would work to build a statement with her during sessions of therapy.

The sheriff agreed so long as there was a deputy present. Then it was time for them to move on to Cal.

He was quite a different story.

He sat in the chair opposite the sheriff and his deputy, both hands and feet bound by chains. Not that either of the two officers in the room knew just how much strength those chains could withstand. Deaton had seen to that.

He was raking his nails over the metal desk with a quiet squeak, not a blemish on his skin beyond a few smears of dried blood and dirt. The deputy watched his fingers move with unease, his skin crawling with each sound and Cal just sneered up at him.

“Alright, I think it’s time we get to the real reason you’re here,” the sheriff said. “We know you kidnapped those kids, you shot at them, you shot at us, you gave one of my deputies some pretty severe bruising to his chest – thank god for bulletproof vests – and we have you on suspicion of at least five other killings in Beacon Hills _alone_. So, where do you want to start?”

He started to grin, his handsome face marred by a wicked darkness that engulfed his features and sent a chill down the sheriff’s spine. Cal’s grin got wider and soon became a laugh, eyes wide and lips suddenly drawing into a snarl.

“You think you’re incredibly clever don’t you?” the sheriff said slowly, testing the waters.

Cal’s laughing stopped but the taunting look on his face remained.

“I don’t think it, I know it,” he said.

“Well if you’re so clever then how did you get yourself caught?” the deputy asked as Cal leaned back in his chair.

“I did everything right, my only mistake was thinking _she_ could keep up,” he said arrogantly. “I could have done it alone, but there were so many of them, I needed an extra set of hands. Girls like her are easy, you make them feel wanted for five minutes and the next they’re practically on their knees.”

The sheriff turned his lip up at him, disgust and anger building inside him but he knew he had to keep his cool. The deputy gave him a wary look and then turned back to Cal.

“This is Cassie you’re talking about?” he said.

“Yeah, her. Impressionable enough but not quite prepared to do what it takes to win,” he said.

“You’re saying you convinced her to join you―”

“On the hunt?” he asked with a slight curl in his lip. “Convinced is a strong word, she knew exactly what she was doing. I’m just saying it wasn’t hard to get her on board. We had a great teacher… before he was _murdered_.”

“You realise that _you_ are a murderer,” the deputy said. “If we go by what we think we know.”

“Stancliff was a visionary, he wanted us to be safe from creatures like them,” he spat. “What I did, you should be thanking me.”

“If you think we’re going to thank you for kidnap, assault and suspected murder then you’ve got a lot to learn about law enforcement,” the sheriff said coldly.

“Oh you don’t have to just suspect it,” Cal said. “You want to know what happened I can tell you, every little detail.”

There was an excited gleam in his eye that made the two officers sick, they stared over at this man who had obviously taken so much pleasure in killing people and knew that after they took his statement they would need to call in the federal officers.

“Well go ahead,” the deputy said, knowing all of it was recording.

“Where do you want me to start?” he shrugged and sat back like he was enjoying it, bragging about who he’d killed and how.

They started with Dalia, Karissa’s mother, because she was the first suspected victim. He told them how he’d sent Cassie in to lure her in, he roughed her up a little ‘for authenticity’ as he’d put it and the sheriff tried to look less repulsed.

So Cassie went out to the small cabin that they’d tracked her to, face bruised and clothes torn claiming to be running from a man who tried to assault her. Dalia’s nature meant that they knew she would take her in to shelter her, and once inside Cassie managed to take out a rare poison and knock her out. From there it was all Cal.

He performed the blood-letting, the torture, the overall killing, Cassie just drove the vehicle and performed minor tasks that he ordered of her. Next came Freya, and this time it was Cal’s turn to lure her in.

He’d made himself an antidote, much like the ones Deaton had made for the pack the year before, to make her powers almost completely inefficient towards him. He knew she was looking for a hunt and even though it had been Cassie’s idea to lure her in that way he took almost all of the credit.

He said he approached her in a bar, acted like she was too beautiful not to give it a try and when she thought she had him under her spell he turned on her, this time it was quicker than the first. The sheriff suspected that he was drunk on the power and the thrill and just had to do it quickly.

He described the killing of Katherine’s ring-ins, Rico and Havier, as a classic hunt. While the sheriff and the deputy couldn’t quite comprehend it in the terms that he was speaking, hunting down two humans was nauseating enough.

Then came Katherine.

“She was one of the most fun,” he sneered. “With a little tip off from an informant we learned that she would do anything to get to Derek, and it was easy to use it to our advantage.”

“Wait, wait…” the sheriff said. “ _She_ was after Derek? Why?”

He scoffed a little. “Because she wanted what he had, she got greedy, besides, you of all people can't tell me that you don’t see why. A creature like him sticking to your son, it’s enough to make anyone sick―”

“Alright, that’s enough!” the sheriff yelled and the deputy put his hand on his arm, pulling him back into his seat.

Cal sneered at the two of them and the sheriff exhaled heavily, folding his arms and leaning back.

“So you were informed of Katherine’s motives,” the deputy said, prompting him to continue. “Then what happened.”

“Well then we used her to get to him, two birds with one stone,” he said. “But there were too many of his little slaves to win that one. We told her we were hunting him and that if she helped us to kill him she could have her pick of the litter.”

The two officers looked at one another with confusion clear in their eyes. To them, Cal had some kind of delusion, living in some kind of paranoid world where the forces he felt were out to get him were merely figments of his imagination. His bloodlust was real, as was his arrogance and the desire he had to boast of his crimes. He was actually _proud_ of killing all those people.

“Of course she was just as easy to manipulate, so when we got her down to watch Derek burn I got the better of her. She was pretty feisty, put up a little more fight when I tied her to the tree. I told Cassie it was her turn to finish one off but I did all the hard work. All she had to do was slash her throat, she could have done it in her sleep.”

“And your informant, who were they? Clearly they wanted this woman or Derek killed too?” the deputy asked.

“He was a tiny piece, he doesn’t even matter,” he smirked up at them. “Besides, where I shot him earlier, he could be dead already.”

“Is there anything else you want to confess while we’re here?” the sheriff said dryly. “Maybe there were a few more teenagers you planned on maiming?”

“Can I ask,” the deputy said, leaning in a little. “Why didn’t you kill those teenagers? Why hold them hostage instead of just doing what you did with the others?”

“Because we wanted to get to the alpha,” he said and the two gave one another a look. “Don’t think I didn’t have fun with it though.”

“You better watch your mouth,” the sheriff said and Cal just started laughing again.

“Your son was the first one right? He’s got a sarcastic little mouth on him.”

“That’s enough,” he said.

“He needed a little discipline, someone to show him a firm hand like I’m guessing you never did or he never would have wound up as the alpha’s little play thing―”

“You want to stop right now,” he said, standing up in his chair.

Cal grinned. “He was nice and soft under my fists, and his throat would have been so easy to crush if I’d decided I wanted to do more than just scare the pathetic little faggot―”

“That’s _enough_!” the sheriff yelled and the deputy had just enough time to grab him as he lunged at Cal.

“You want to kill me? Go on, _kill me_!” he yelled. “What are you waiting for!”

The sheriff pulled himself back, staring down at Cal’s now reddening face as he screamed up at him, yanking at his chains and thrashing in his chair.

They shook their heads in disbelief and left the room, backing out as he screamed some more and tried to free himself. The medics rushed in to tend to him with a sedative but the last one they had given him had worn off in remarkable time.

“What the hell was all that about?” the deputy asked as they looked through the window of the room.

The sheriff shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Well I don’t think there’s any denying they were behind all of those other murders, I think we better get psych in to see him too. What was he talking about? Alphas and creatures… an informant?”

“Hallucinations?” the deputy asked. “It could explain why they weren’t targeting any specific groups of people.”

The sheriff sighed.

“We better call in the higher-ups,” he said. “They’re going to want to talk to both of them. Him especially.”

“If they can get anything out of him,” he said.

The sheriff nodded and then heard his phone ringing from his pocket and fumbled to fish it out.

“Sheriff Stilinski,” he said out of habit, listening for a moment before his eyes grew wide. “I’ll be right there.”

“Good news?” the deputy asked.

“My son is awake,” he said. “Do you―”

“Go, I’ll call if we hear anything new.”

He nodded and gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder before heading off to the hospital to see Stiles, safe and awake, finally.

 

 

Derek sat back at Stiles’ bedside once Ethan and Aiden were in Daisy’s room without too much fuss. He kept his senses alert lest they made any unsavoury movements but he didn’t think they would, they seemed to worry only about whether or not she was okay.

He didn’t want to leave him, not until he was awake and back to himself. He knew it was impractical and probably a little overprotective but there was no way he was going to be anything but in the near future.

Scott was just sitting opposite, staring over at Stiles but not really looking as he tried to go over everything in his head.

Where do they go from here?

He couldn’t doubt that Isaac loved him, he just couldn’t. But maybe he loved her too, maybe he had once loved her more. Maybe nothing happened in that time he had lost in his mind but maybe it had. Maybe he could have left and never looked back.

He wanted to ask Derek about triggers, about whether their ties could break or be broken, but now wasn’t really the time.

Instead he sat with his eyes heavy and waited with Derek for Stiles to come around. It had to be soon.

It took a few more hours, enough time for Lydia and Jackson to show up and head in to see Allison first and for Erica to arrive on her own.

She stood in the doorway and gave Scott a look. He knew what she was trying to say but he ignored her, taking his eyes away from her accusing stare. He got to his feet and left the room without another word, brushing past her quietly.

“Leave him alone,” Derek said quietly.

“He’s being unreasonable,” she said without shifting her gaze.

“It’s not unreasonable for someone to hurt another person, even with the best intentions behind them,” he said.

“So you’re siding with Scott?”

“I’m not taking sides, let them figure it out themselves and stay out of it.”

She sighed.

“Can't I just―”

“ _Erica_.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll leave it, but I’m not happy about it.”

“I remember when you didn’t give a damn about anyone else’s drama,” he said, turning to give her a look and her face softened a little as she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, well, the bastards got to me I guess,” she said and he smiled as he turned back to Stiles.

“I know what you mean.”

His hand was back to Stiles’ cheek and this time as he looked over him he saw his eyelashes begin to flutter. His stare grew stronger and he could feel his heart beating faster as the small stirring sound came from his throat.

Erica moved quickly from the doorway and stood by the bed, her heart rate also on the rise as Stiles’ stiff body began to wake and his eyes opened slowly to reveal a room blurry to more than just the one of his senses.

“Stiles?” Erica said with a smile on her lips.

Derek was standing now, his body curved over as his other hand cupped Stiles’ cheek and holding him carefully between them.

“Er…ca…” he mumbled.

She grinned wider than she had in a while and she put a hand on Derek’s shoulder.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” she said and Derek gave her a nod without looking up from Stiles’ fluttering eyes.

She left the room to go and tell the others and Stiles was lifting a hand to touch Derek’s arm, sending a warm shudder through him.

“Derek…” he said in a breath.

“I’m here,” he cooed.

Stiles closed his eyes and his lips drew into a smile as his fingers tightened around Derek’s wrist.

“Can… can you…” he murmured.

Derek’s thumbs brushed against his pink cheeks and he nodded even though his lover was not looking up at him.

“Kiss me?” he asked and Derek almost laughed, his lips poised in the shape of it as he leant in slowly and pressed his mouth against the soft welcome of Stiles’ lips.

He felt as though an oppressive pressure left his body at that moment, the weight that had been crushing him into the ground since the moment he went missing was gone, his stomach once again thrumming with that electric buzz that came with being near him.

He pulled his lips back from him, the smile now the star of his beautiful face.

“How do you feel?” he asked quietly, hands still caressing Stiles’ cheeks and chin.

“Tired, a little sore,” he croaked. “Never thought I’d be happy to be in a hospital bed, concrete isn’t much of a luxury.”

Derek chuckled a little. “Only you could make jokes from your hospital bed.”

“Not true, I’m sure Jackson could…” his face changed and he suddenly remembered the events immediately prior to his black out. “Jackson, Scott, Isaac… what happened? Are they alright? Where―”

Derek shushed him gently.

“They’re fine, physically,” he said and everything began to come back to him.

“I have to talk to them,” he said, pushing himself up and Derek sat back, moving his hand to Stiles’ chest and pushing him back down.

“You will, just not right this second,” he said. “You’ve got time.”

“Derek I―”

“I’m going to call your dad,” he said, taking out his phone. “And you’re going to stay in this bed. I’ll get the others.”

Stiles slumped back in the sheets and sighed with a smile before mumbling back at him. “Lucky you’re cute.”

Derek raised an eyebrow as he put the phone to his ear, waiting a few rings until the sheriff picked up.

“I don’t know how busy you are, but I thought you should know that he’s awake,” he said.

He didn’t have to say anything more, the sheriff had already hung up, clearly in a rush to get back.

Stiles reached his hand out and Derek took hold of it, a contented sigh passing through his lips.

“Climb in with me?” Stiles asked.

Derek sighed. “I think you need to just relax.”

“I said get in not jump my bones,” he said.

Derek shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I’m not getting in with you, the others will be here soon.”

Stiles sighed but let it go, staring up at him with his tired eyes.

“I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again,” he said quietly and Derek stood again, lips pressing softly against his brow.

“The feeling’s mutual,” he replied.

“Thank you,” he said and Derek just tilted his head questioningly.

“For what?”

“For staying this time,” he said.

Derek reached down to tangle their fingers together with a smile.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

 

 

Isaac walked down the streets in the unfamiliar part of town looking for the address he’d been given. Peter didn’t answer his phone but Isaac knew that Jackson had been to his apartment with Lydia and Allison before to try and get some information so he asked him, and he managed to find the address for him.

He maintained that there was no good reason for _anyone_ to be going to see Peter but Isaac had to do it. He had to know.

It was the only way to clear his conscience.

He finally made it to the apartment building and buzzed the number Jackson had given him. There was no response on the first try. He kept pushing the button until he heard the sound of the intercom turning on.

“ _When one does not answer the doorbell you would think that they were either out or in no mood for company_.”

Isaac rolled his eyes. “Open up Peter, it’s Isaac.”

“ _What do you want?_ ” he asked.

“I want to talk to you,” he said.

“ _And why should I oblige_?”

Isaac growled a little. “I don’t want to talk about you or what you did or didn’t do, I want… I want to ask you a favour.”

Without saying anything further the door to the building buzzed open and Isaac was on his way up to Peter’s apartment.

Jackson was right about it. It was cold, almost sterile, and the door to Peter’s flat was already open when he reached the right hallway. As he walked inside he felt the cool shiver run down his spine and his brow set, trying to pick anything that might be out of the ordinary.

“I do hope you’re aware,” Isaac spun around to see Peter behind him, leaning up against one of the walls. “My favours never come free.”

“What do you want to know?” he said.

Peter’s lips turned up in a smile. “What kind of favour are you asking for?”

“I want to unlock a memory,” he said. “One that I can't seem to find.”

“Interesting.”

“Is it?”

“I can help you, if you’d like,” he said. “But if I’m going to be in your head―”

“You want to look at more than what I’m asking for, don’t you?” Isaac said, feeling his stomach drop a little at the idea of Peter looking through his head like a filing cabinet.

“Well aren’t you intuitive.”

“Why can't you just ask me what you want to know?”

“If you’re not interested then I don’t have to help you,” he said. “It’s your choice. How much is this information worth to you?”

Isaac thought on that a moment. If he could recover what he’d lost from that night he’d finally know what really happened, his mind at ease. He could face Scott with the full truth, he could finally stop feeling anxious at the thought of that night and what might have happened. He needed it as a piece of his closure.

On the other hand, having Peter rifle through his memories was potentially dangerous, who knows what he could see and use by doing so.

His decision came down to his sanity, the one choice that he knew he would regret if he didn’t make.

“Okay,” he said with a sigh.

Peter’s smile grew wider and he stood up off the wall to gesture to one of the dining chairs.

Isaac walked over and took a seat, eyeing Peter carefully as he walked around him.

“What? You don’t trust me?” he asked and Isaac scoffed.

“Give me one reason why I should?”

“Because I’m about to put something very sharp into your skin, trust would go a long way,” he said.

“Don’t think Derek wouldn’t come after you if you did something to me.”

“I don’t doubt that he would, now hold still… this may sting…”

Isaac felt the sharp tips of Peter’s claws as they broke through the skin of his neck and he felt his eyes flash wide open. He remembered mostly how to do this, his mind thinking back to the night in question and it wasn’t long before he could practically see it.

Cassie’s lips against his, his dizzy protests, and then it all began to come back.

_“No Cassie, I’m― I love Scott… I can't do this,” he had said._

_“You know once you would have done anything to be with me…” her voice sounded different than he remembered, laden with something more than just disappointment._

_“It’s different now… I’m in love with someone else.”_

_“Sometimes love isn’t always what it seems.”_

_He body swayed as she sat up, her dark hair hanging over her face._

_“Cassie, I can't…” he lay back down and looked up at the ceiling as it spun above him. “I can't…”_

_“You can't or you don’t want to?” she asked as she lay down beside him, her face without expression._

_He thought for a moment and led with a heavy sigh. “Both.”_

_“I guess I was stupid, huh?” she asked. “For thinking that after all this time, after not even speaking to you for months, that you could still feel the way you did when I left.”_

_He turned his head to look at her._

_“You knew?”_

_He had never realised that Cassie knew just how deep his feelings for her ran. He always thought that what happened between them was almost like a way of saying goodbye when she left for college._

_“Of course I did,” she said. “But you were Isaac, and I was me.”_

_“What does that even mean?”_

_“It means you were so good, despite everything that happened to you… you were so wonderful… and I knew you were too good for me. I was already broken and you were putting all the pieces of yourself back together.”_

_“You weren’t broken…” he said quietly._

_“I was,” she said with a nod. “I probably still am.”_

_“You can't think like that.”_

_“What they did to you… I should have stopped him―”_

_“You couldn’t have stopped him,” she said. “There’s only one way to stop monsters like that.”_

_“But I knew…”_

_“I know you did, and I made you promise not to tell anyone.”_

_“I could have stopped it…”_

_When Isaac moved in with his temporary foster family and first met Cassie he would never have guessed the things that had happened to her, she had seemed so happy. She was fostered as a very young child because her mother had overdosed on some kind of hard drug. Her father had been a junkie too._

_As far as she told him he was a terrifying man, always high on something and paranoid to the max. He once left her at the park down the road from their house until well after dark because he got lost in a trip._

_She had only been five._

_Her first foster home had six other kids, mostly older boys who would tease and scare her because she was so little, and then came the place where Isaac had met her. The couple had been fostering kids for years, they had a perfect record._

_The woman worked from home and the man had a standard nine to five job but he was far from standard._

_Some nights proved worse than others, and while Cassie claimed that he never crossed that unforgivable line, Isaac knew what he had seen. He was cruel to her when no one else could see; perhaps he enjoyed watching kids get scared. Whatever it was, he played the perfect father figure at all other times and no one ever suspected him._

_“I told someone once,” she said. “A teacher I think. She thought it was an excuse for handing in late homework.”_

_“You never told me that.”_

_“I never told anyone else that either,” she said. “But I’ve decided I can't be voiceless anymore.”_

_“I could have said something with you,” he said._

_“I can't talk about this anymore…” she whispered and he reached over to hold her hand._

_They lay together like that for a few more minutes before she said anything again._

_“He’s really that important to you?” she asked, and this time he knew she was talking about Scott._

_“I’ve never felt anything like this for another person,” he said. “I don’t even think I feel it about myself.”_

_“You should,” she said._

_“So should you,” he said, turning to look at her a little, noticing the glistening lines on her face that trailed from her eyes to the hotel sheets. “Do you love him?”_

_She smiled a little, closing her eyes and a tear rolled down the predetermined path. “Of course I don’t love him.”_

_“Then why be with him?”_

_“Because otherwise I would have to be alone with myself,” she said. “And we take from people what we think we’re owed. We never look for something better. If we find it, we convince ourselves we aren’t good enough for it.”_

_Isaac remembered thinking that her sentiment sounded familiar, from a book or a movie he had heard of and he squeezed her hand a little harder._

_“Don’t settle for him,” he said with a little shake of his head. “I think that I don’t deserve Scott, every day I wake up and look at him and I'm terrified he’ll wake up and know what I know, that he is_ too good _for me.”_

_“The difference is that you’re extraordinary, and deep down you know that,” she said. “I wouldn’t know how to love even if someone did love me.”_

_“Sometimes I’m not sure I even know how_ _to love him…” he said softly, staring up at the ceiling._

_“Even an idiot would be able to see just how much you already do,” she said, turning to look at him. “It’s written over every inch of you. I was an idiot to think…”_

_“Cass… don’t―”_

_“I’m not,” she said firmly. “And you know exactly how to love him, loving comes as naturally to you as breathing.”_

_“Don’t settle for him,” he said again. “You deserve better.”_

_“I’m not sure that I do anymore.”_

_They spoke for a while longer, about Scott, about themselves, about lots of things. The only physical contact they made was their hands held tightly together by their sides. When the hour mark closed in Isaac knew he couldn’t stay and it wasn’t because he didn’t trust himself but that he knew he couldn’t stay with her, not after speaking so intimately. It didn’t feel right._

And there it all was, laid out before him in all its bare honest truth. Nothing happened, nothing like what he had thought anyway.

He felt a stabbing of guilt through his chest, creeping up into his throat as he thought about what he might have been able to do, about how he could have helped her and got her out of it all before it got this far. Maybe it could have been different. Maybe people would still be alive.

It was then that he felt Peter’s claws give a subtle change in their position and he felt the spasm go through him as the memories changed.

“My turn…” he heard from behind him as it all flashed forward.

He saw everything in a blur, from telling Scott about Denver to Boyd and Erica going missing, the fire at the Hale house, all of it went by quickly until Cassie and Cal took them to the warehouse.

Peter was watching it all, maybe he was looking for something. He seemed to stop when Cal was talking and Isaac didn’t know why, maybe there was some piece of information he was looking for.

He got a little further forward and Isaac knew what was coming, even as Peter let his memories play out to watch the scene unfold.

_“No, no, no, no, no!” Cassie’s voice came ringing out. “No that can’t be right!”_

_When Scott looked back at Isaac his eyes were back to normal, not even a trace of the deep red that they had been only a moment before._

Peter lingered on that memory for a minute before skipping through the rest of the incident, nothing else peaked his interest as much as that did.

“That’s enough!” Isaac growled, getting ready to jump up but Peter was already pulling away.

Isaac turned to him, both eyeing one another with caution.

“I take it you got what you wanted?” Peter asked.

“Did you?”

Peter’s lips turned up in a smile. “I wanted nothing, you were the one who came to me after all.”

He didn’t stay long enough to thank Peter. Instead he left, knowing that Stiles was probably awake and that he’d learned exactly what he’d wanted to. He just thought it would feel a lot better than it did.


	51. Chapter Fifty-One

Derek and Stiles were allowed the pleasure of being alone for all of five minutes. Once that was interrupted Derek knew they weren’t going to have another moment like it until he was back home recovering.

Erica and Scott came in quickly with Lydia and Jackson not far behind them. Boyd stood in the doorway with Derek and just gave Stiles a warm smile.

Erica nearly climbed into the bed with him to hug him, earning a low rumble of a growl from Derek to which they both just responded with gleeful smiles. Scott wrapped his arms around him and just held him for a moment. Stiles could tell that he seemed to need it more than he did. Lydia walked over to kiss him on the cheek, something that still made him blush, and Jackson found it in his heart to give him an affectionate pat on the foot.

“How’s Allison?” he asked, looking up from the bed.

“She’s a little groggy, can't really move her arm that well but she’s good,” Lydia said.

“She seemed kind of pissed she got shot,” Jackson said with a shrug.

“You’d be pissed if you got shot,” Erica said.

“I’ve been shot,” he said. “Pissed off is a valid emotion.”

“It’s good to have you back,” Scott said warmly and Stiles smiled up at him.

“Yeah well _I’m_ getting pretty pissed at being the number one go-to for supernatural-related injury bullshit,” he said.

“That’s what happens when you’re human,” Jackson said, his eyes turning to look at Lydia for a moment.

“Hey, where’s Isaac?” Stiles asked.

Scott put his head down a little and Erica piped up quickly. “He’s catching up on some sleep, apparently hostage situations don’t sit so well with him.”

“Yeah well, I can relate,” Stiles said, sinking back into the bed with a small sigh.

“Okay, how about we give him some of the air back in this room?” Derek said. “His dad will be back soon.”

“Well I’m staying,” Scott said firmly.

The rest of them made their way out of the room, Lydia and Jackson to the cafeteria while Erica went with Boyd to Daisy’s room. She and Aiden looked at one another for a moment before she turned her gaze away and neither one said anything more.

The hospital was a flurry with teenagers for the rest of the day, not one of them ever giving Stiles a moment alone. The sheriff came in not long after Derek had called, face flushed and breathing heavily like he’d missed the elevator and ran up the stairs to see him.

He stood in the doorway staring at his son with a mix of both elation and disbelief and Stiles gave him a smile.

“I told you that you should lay off those curly fries,” he said and the sheriff’s face turned to a grin and he took long strides inside to pull Stiles into his arms.

Derek looked over at Erica and Scott who were still in the room and nodded out into the hall. Neither of them argued with him this time.

“I remember telling you to study hard and stay out of trouble,” he said back and he felt Stiles chuckle through their embrace.

“Okay, you win,” he said.

They pulled back and the sheriff put his hand on Stiles’ cheek, eyes looking over the greenish bruising that ran along the line of his neck.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

“Yeah, me too,” he said. “Were you just down at the station?”

“I was,” he said.

“What, uh… what’s going on? Did you get statements from―”

“You know I’m not supposed to talk to you about current investigations don’t you? Jesus, at least wait until you’re out of this bed before you start trying to find everything out.”

“I just want to know what’s going on,” he said. “I mean you got them right? They’re in custody?”

The sheriff sighed. “Yeah, we got them.”

“And what’s going to happen to them?”

He shook his head a moment but he knew he wouldn’t stop asking. Besides, he’d been involved in this one, he probably had a right to know.

“They’re both going in for psychological assessment,” he said. “At the moment we can probably charge him with four counts of first degree murder as well as assault and kidnapping, She might be the same except with only one count, at this stage that is. Sentencing and charges are all going to depend on what the psych says anyway. I probably don’t have to tell you that there was something not quite right with those two.”

“So wait, what? They confessed?”

“ _He_ confessed, liked taking the credit I think. She didn’t say much of anything, mostly she seemed pretty distressed,” he said.

“Yeah, she seemed that way out there too,” Stiles sighed.

“Well, enough about that, you know too much already,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“Like if one more person asks me that I might punch them,” he said.

The sheriff laughed.

Stiles suddenly remembered something and his eyes grew wide as he looked up at his dad.

“My jeep,” he said, his face now serious. “Did they say anything about my jeep?”

The sheriff laughed again, a big hearty laugh that made his body shake and he tapped Stiles gently on the hand.

“Is that really what you’re worried about right now? You get college offers soon and in a few weeks you’ll be graduating but god forbid the one thing that’s replaceable is gone,” he said.

“I know my priorities.”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “The jeep is fine, a little scratched and dirty but it’s fine. They found it out on that old property, hidden in the trees.”

“Oh thank god,” Stiles sighed, lying back in the bed as the sheriff shook his head from side to side.

“Your priorities worry me.”

“Don’t worry dad, one day you’ll get a jeep of your own and you’ll understand.”

He put his hand on Stiles’ head and leant in to kiss his forehead again.

“I’ll go see if anyone can tell me when you’re getting out of here,” he said.

He gave him a smile and stood up to head to the nurses station.

“Wait, dad?” Stiles called from the bed and the sheriff turned around in the doorway. “I love you.”

The sheriff smiled with a warm sigh. “Love you too son.”

 

 

Boyd stayed in the room across the hall with Daisy most of the time. Sometimes he left Aiden and Ethan alone with her and went to see Stiles, he even popped in to see Allison with Erica.

Erica stayed with him as long as the twins weren’t in the room, she really didn’t feel like talking to either of them.

They had gone to get food and she sat in one of the chairs tapping her foot over and over. After a while Boyd just stared over at her with a glare.

“Stop,” he said.

“Why? Maybe it’ll annoy her so much that it wakes her up,” she shrugged.

“Or it’ll annoy me so much that I want to come over there and stand on your foot. That’ll hurt, trust me.”

She rolled her eyes and stopped.

“Why are you so on edge?” he asked.

“I’m not.”

“Erica.”

“Okay if I tell you something can you please just keep your mouth shut?”

“So, it’s a secret?”

“Of sorts, yeah.”

“Erica what’s going on?”

She looked up at him and sighed. “Isaac went to go see Peter.”

“He what?”

“You heard,” she said. “He went to ask him to do his memory unlock-y thing, but he didn’t pick up when we called and Isaac just went anyway, now it’s been hours since he left and he’s not back. I’m worried.”

“There could be lots of explanations,” Boyd said. “It might have taken a long time, he might still be trying to convince him to help. Maybe he got what he wanted and then went for a walk seeing as Scott’s across the ward in Stiles’ room. From what you said they weren’t exactly on cloud nine.”

“Isaac isn’t the problem there, it’s Scott. He won't talk to him. He’s too stubborn,” she said, leaning back in the chair with folded arms. “If I were him I wouldn’t want to take on this silent treatment thing, I’d yell. And I don’t even know if this thing they’re fighting about is worth yelling about but it’s sure as hell better than passive-aggressive silent-treatment bullshit.”

Boyd nodded a little. “So, you’ve resolved things with Aiden then?”

She held up her middle finger. “That’s different, we were never Scott and Isaac.”

“Still, wouldn’t yelling be better than passive―”

“Wait,” she said, shushing him. “Can you hear that?”

His ears tuned in to every minute detail in the room and then he heard it, eyes turning quickly to Daisy.

“Her heart rate is getting faster,” Erica said. “She’s waking up.”

They watched her stir a little and Erica rushed over to kiss Boyd on the cheek.

“I’ll just go and talk to Stiles a little more,” she said.

Boyd gave her a smile as she left and then looked back to Daisy, her eyelids fluttering awake before her eyes went wide and her heart rate elevated even higher, she was panicking.

“Daisy, Daisy…” Boyd said quietly, putting his hand on her arm. “It’s alright, you’re safe now.”

She was still shaking as she looked up at him, reaching up to pull the mask away from her lips.

“Boyd,” she croaked. “Where…”

“You’re in the hospital, you’re okay,” he said.

Her hand found his and despite looking so frail in the hospital bed she held on with quite a grip. Slowly she calmed down and Boyd was able to tell her what they suspect had happened. It wasn’t long before she was relaxed enough and Ethan and Aiden came in to see her too.

It seemed like things were finally looking up.

 

 

Jackson knocked on the open door to Stiles’ room interrupting his quite talk with Scott.

“Not that I want to break up the love in here,” he started, making Scott roll his eyes. “But can I get a minute to talk to the invalid?”

“Nice to see you too Jackson, boy did I forget how much I missed you,” Stiles said with a straight face and Jackson just gave him a smirk.

“You want me to leave?” Scott asked and Jackson turned his eyes to him.

“Yes please.”

“You can't just say what you need to while I’m here?”

“I said please, I only ever say please once, if you’re lucky,” he said and Scott let out a frustrated huff before getting out of his chair, saying a quick word to Stiles before ignoring Jackson on his way out.

“Did you have to be such a dick?” Stiles asked as Jackson walked over to sit beside him.

“I thought I was just asking him to leave?”

“Yeah and you’re just naturally a dick so that’s how it came out.”

“Yeah, whatever, about what that girl said about Lydia,” he said, getting straight to the point. “What the hell are we supposed to do with that?”

It took Stiles a moment to trace it back over in his mind but then it was clear as anything.

“A banshee,” he said with a sigh.

“What even is that?” Jackson asked.

“She said it was a wailing woman,” Stiles said, trying to remember it.

“Yeah well _that_ sounds right,” Jackson mumbled.

“Don’t be a dick, this is serious.”

“Hey, you should know better than anyone that sarcasm is a coping mechanism.”

“Alright, okay! How about we do some research, maybe talk to Deaton―”

“That guy knows way too much already,” Jackson grumbled.

Stiles sighed. “Well let’s just figure out what we can first, then we should… we should probably tell her.”

Jackson’s head dropped a little. “What good is knowing what you are if you have no idea how to control it?”

“I don’t know, but how do you ask someone if they want to know? They don’t know what it’s going to be like until they know but then if they don’t want to know they still know that someone _else_ knows,” he said and Jackson just looked up with an eyebrow high on his forehead.

“You probably shouldn’t tell her eyes if she wants to know, maybe leave that to me,” he said.

“Hey, I can be eloquent when I need to be,” Stiles said.

“Yeah, not so sure about that.”

They both looked up to see Isaac standing in the doorway with a weak smile on his face.

“Good to know there’s no one on my team,” Stiles said as Jackson stood up.

“Well that’s basically all I wanted to say, we can talk about it when you get out of here,” he said, his face softening for a moment. “Glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks,” he said before Jackson was leaving.

“He’s all yours,” he said.

“You know you’re like the last person to come and visit me, right?” Stiles said, folding his arms. “Thought you’d forgotten about me.”

“It’s been like two days, you can survive without me for that long at least,” he said.

Stiles shrugged. “You’re right, but I was a little worried about you.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I was there in that warehouse,” he said. “And I saw Scott.”

Isaac slumped down into the chair by the bed with a loud groan, all the energy zapped out of him with even just the mention of his name.

“Yeah?” he said.

“Look don’t take it to be over or anything,” Stiles said. “Scott just… okay for starters his dad left when he was a kid so you saying you’d just drop everything and leave probably hit that nerve. And before you start defending all of that just know you don’t have to, I know why you did it all and I know you were just trying to help us.”

Isaac looked up. “You do?”

“Of course I do, the only person who isn’t going to see what you did for what it actually was is Scott,” he said. “When it comes to people we love all of our rationality kind of disappears. I mean come on, last year when Derek tried to leave me I was a freaking mess, looking back now I know that he really did think he was doing the best thing for me. Back then you couldn’t have convinced me of that.”

“I said I’d leave with someone else and not come back,” Isaac said. “That’s a little different don’t you think?”

“I’m just trying to make a point here Isaac,” he said. “You know, be comforting and what-not.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said.

“I’m just saying that Scott can be really stubborn and when he gets hurt he’ll just shut everyone else out and try to work it all out. You did and said everything because you thought you could save him that way, and I know you were trying to save _her_ too.”

He looked up, guilt written over his face. “I just wanted her to be okay.”

“My dad says they’re sending her to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist, something like that,” he said and Isaac nodded. “Apparently Cal confessed to everything, he’s going to get most of the charges for murder, she might have only killed one person after all of it.”

He sighed, shaking his head a little. “It was still a life, you know?”

“You couldn’t have helped her you know,” Stiles said. “I saw her when it was just us… maybe you could have convinced her to go with you but maybe getting arrested… getting some help, maybe that’s the best thing for her.”

“At least she’s away from Cal,” Isaac said, feeling the bile rise in his throat as he thought about him.

“Not going to argue with you there,” Stiles said. “That guy was a real piece of work.”

“Yeah well, he got what he deserved in the end, he’s going to hate what happens to him,” Isaac said.

“Prison, not as appealing as it looks on TV, huh?” Stiles said with a smile and Isaac just looked at him.

“You… you don’t know, do you?” he said.

“Don’t know what?”

“Maybe Derek should field that one,” he said and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“What is it? What don’t I know?”

Isaac sighed. “There’s no real point in letting him tell you, he gave… well, it’s going to sound strange, but he gave the bite to Cal.”

Stiles blinked a few times, oddly lost for words for a few moments.

“He… he did _what_?”

“I think Karissa asked him to do it, from what I was told anyway, I wasn’t there for the moment it happened. It was a way to really punish him for it all, turn him into what he hated most, you know.”

“You really think that was a smart plan?” Stiles asked.

“There are people on the inside who can make sure he’s… subdued. I just know it feels good that he’s got some real justice for what he’s done.”

“And Cassie?” Stiles asked.

“You said it yourself, she might have only killed one person, maybe prison’s enough for that,” he shrugged. “And you’re right, she can finally get some help.”

“You know what else I’m right about?” he said and Isaac sighed.

“What?”

“That Scott just needs time to cool off, he’ll realise that you were just trying to do the best thing for him, and me, thanks by the way. I can't remember what happened towards the end there but I know I can't have looked good,” he said. “Just let him work it out, he never _stays_ mad.”

“So what, just give up and wait for him to come to me?” Isaac said. “I can't just do nothing. I really hurt him and I want him to know how sorry I am.”

“He knows Isaac,” Stiles said. “Just give him time.”

Isaac sighed, running a hand through his curly hair.

“So, Karissa… I guess she’s gone again, huh?”

Isaac nodded. “As far as I know she said goodbye to Derek down at the warehouse.”

“And Daisy?”

“She’s awake,” he said with a small smile. “Across the hall with Boyd and the twins.”

“The twins are back?”

“I really can't keep track of who’s in and who’s out these days.”

“Fair call.”

As they gave one another a shrug Derek appeared in the doorway.

“I need to borrow Isaac,” he said bluntly.

“No ‘hello’, no ‘sorry to interrupt’, are you back to being a grump?” Stiles asked and Derek just glared in at him.

“I’m starting to think I liked you better when you were sedated,” he said.

“Do you hear how he talks to me?”

“I think I’ll come with you because otherwise all I’m going to hear is more of this until I do,” Isaac said, getting up out of his seat and following Derek out.

“Wait, you’re coming back right?” Stiles asked and they both looked back in. “Not you Isaac.”

“Have _you_ heard how you talk to _me_?” Isaac said, slipping out the doorway.

“I’m leaving you here in this bed for ten minutes, think you can manage that?” Derek said.

“Maybe…”

“I’ll be right back,” he said, enunciating every syllable and Stiles smiled before rolling over onto his side.

Isaac was about to ask Derek what he needed but Derek quickly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him around the corner. He protested a little and winced at Derek’s hard grip as he shoved him into an empty room and they came face to face with Jackson.

Derek let him go and folded his arms, looking from one to the other.

“Was he that rough with you?” Isaac asked and Jackson just shook his head with an annoyed expression on his face.

“You two have some things you need to start saying,” Derek said. “About what happened in there.”

“Well why didn’t you drag Scott in here too? It wasn’t just us in there,” Jackson said.

“Because what you need to start talking about involves him, and I thought you might want to clue me in before we decide whether or not to get him involved.”

“What are you talking about?” Isaac asked and Jackson threw his head back a little.

“He means what we spoke to Deaton about,” he said. “He said something to you?”

“He said I should ask you two first, so do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Derek said impatiently.

Isaac and Jackson looked to one another for a second, not sure whether Deaton had given anything away to him.

“Don’t look at each other, one of you say something,” he said.

“We just told Deaton that when we were in the place and Scott was getting all angry and I don’t know, heroic or something, he… his eyes turned red, for a minute,” Jackson said and Derek’s expression turned blank very quickly.

“What?”

“For only a moment,” Isaac added. “Then they went back to normal.”

“You’re sure they turned red?” Derek asked.

“We both saw it,” Jackson said. “Deaton said he might know something about it but he said he’d talk to Scott first.”

“He doesn’t need to,” Derek said with a heavy sigh. “He knows what it means.”

“Is it bad?” Isaac asked.

“It depends,” Derek said.

“On… what exactly?” Jackson asked.

“On whether or not Scott wants to stay a beta.”

Jackson and Isaac exchanged glances again.

“Are you saying that he’s… not a beta anymore?” Isaac asked.

“He’s still a beta, for now,” Derek said. “But potentially he could be more than that.”

“Wait, I thought you could only become an alpha by killing one or winning it,” Jackson said. “How does McCall just have the potential to be one?”

“It’s called a ‘true alpha’, and they’re rare,” he said. “Maybe wait to bring it up with him until all of this dies down.”

“A true alpha? What does that―”

“Deaton said that because Scott was good, that he had a pure heart…” Isaac said, cutting Jackson off.

“I don’t want this getting out, do you hear me?” Derek said. “Just keep it between us for now, it’s not something that everyone needs to know.”

“Got it,” Jackson said with a sigh and Isaac just nodded.

It was just another thing for them to think about.

 

 

Daisy was much more alert by the late afternoon, by evening she had regained most of her strength but the doctors still had her confined to her bed.

The twins headed down to the cafeteria to grab some food and it gave Boyd a moment to be alone with her. He took her hand in his and the glow in her cheeks had started to come back as she graced him with a warm smile.

“You really don’t remember anything?” he asked and she shook hr head.

“Not really, nothing that makes a real memory anyway,” she said. “I remember a girl giving me water, it must have had something in it because whenever I regained consciousness she was there and then there was just nothing again. I don’t know how I got there, or what else they did to me… none of it.”

“That’s probably for the best,” he said and she nodded.

“I know.”

“Are you… I mean, how are you feeling?”

“Like I always seem to end up at the end of someone’s sword, no matter how hard I try not to be,” she said.

“People are always trying to take advantage, we just want to feel like we matter,” he said. “I promise I won't let that happen anymore.”

Her smile softened and she reached out to put a hand to Boyd’s cheek.

“We can’t control the weather,” she said quietly. “No matter how much we want it to stop raining. The clouds keep coming and we can only watch.”

She sat up a little, pulling him in to meet her as her lips found his. She wove her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her chest, they were big enough to engulf her completely.

“Sometimes it rains, sometimes it hails, sometimes it just fools us into thinking it might,” she said against his shoulder. “I think I might love you Vernon, but it’s still raining.”

“I love you too,” he said softly.

She pulled herself back, fingers cupping his cheeks again and placed a soft kiss on his mouth before sitting back in the bed with a sigh.

“The doctors should be back in soon,” he said. “Did you want anything?”

“I just want to rest for a while,” she said.

He leant in and kissed her temple before standing and heading for the doorway.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, taking one last look at her before heading out into the hall.

 

 

“So the good news is you can go home tonight,” the doctor said to Stiles with a grin. “The bad news is that unless you wake up with the flu tomorrow then you’ll probably have to go to class.”

“I don’t even get a day off? What’s the point in being kidnapped if you miss out on all the perks?” Stiles said, earning a collective groan from the sheriff, Derek, and Scott, who were all gathered in the room with him.

“You’re a little too morbid to be normal, you know that?” the sheriff said and Stiles just grinned.

“I’ll get you the paperwork and then you can probably be on your way,” the doctor said. “I’d still take it easy though, get yourself back up to speed slowly and drink a lot of fluids, it’ll make you feel a lot better a lot quicker.”

“Thanks doc,” the sheriff said as the doctor gave them a parting smile. “You hear that? Take it easy, no gallivanting around the place.”

“You still have my jeep down at the station, I couldn’t go anywhere even if I wanted to,” he said.

“You’re kind of a nightmare,” Scott said and the sheriff laughed.

“This coming from someone who doesn’t even live with him.”

“Hey, I’m injured, you’re supposed to be nice to me,” Stiles said.

“It’s hard to do when you’re trying to milk it for all it’s worth,” Derek said.

“Hey boys, just came to see if Scott wanted a lift home, my shift’s over and I heard Stiles was getting out,” Melissa said from the doorway. “By the way that wasn’t an offer it was a demand, you’re going to let me cook you a decent dinner and sit down with me for a movie. Then I’m never letting you out of the house again until you’re twenty-three.”

Scott sighed, his cheeks flushing pink.

She gave him an extra-large grin but the whole moment was marred by the yelling coming from the hallway.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Where else would she be?” Aiden was yelling and Boyd was squared up to him with his face staring down with a snarl.

“She was in there ten minutes ago, why would you think I would know?” he snapped back.

Melissa was over there in a second.

“Boys, boys! What the hell is going on here? This is a hospital! People are trying to recover and no one can do that with all this yelling,” she said, putting her hands between them.

Scott and Derek had moved into the hall and Stiles was straining to see all the commotion.

“ _He_ knows something he’s not telling me,” Aiden said and Boyd snarled a little more.

“Why would I not tell you if I knew where she was? Where would I even take her in the first place?”

“Take who!” Melissa asked.

“Daisy!” they both said at the same time.

“She was in the room just before but then Kevin went in to do the hourly and she was just gone,” one of the nurses said to Melissa. “She’d taken out all her wires and just disappeared.”

“Don’t we have security for that?” she asked.

“Out in the corridor yeah but not in this room,” the other nurse said.

“She wouldn’t just get up and leave,” Boyd said.

“Well what else do you think happened?” Aiden asked.

“Boys, listen to me,” Melissa said. “The hospital will do whatever it can to find her, but neither of you are next of kin. If she _is_ gone there’s not much the hospital can do about it. Minor patients get up and leave all the time, it’s not ideal, but it happens. All you can do is list her as missing, but technically―”

“She can't be missing yet,” Aiden said with a grunt, kicking at the floor and running a hand through his hair.

“Why would she leave without saying anything?” Boyd asked.

“If she wants to be gone then you won't find her,” Aiden said, shaking his head with his hand on his hips. “That girl is a master at becoming invisible.”

“Why would she want to be gone?” Boyd asked again and Aiden just shook his head.

“You really think I know?” he said. “I guess pack bonds aren’t so strong without an alpha.”

“Could someone have taken her?” Ethan asked, leaning up against the entrance to her room.

“I tried checking scents but too many people go in and out of there, it all smells the same to me,” Aiden said.

“You probably would have noticed someone going in there and taking her,” Derek said, walking over to stand by Boyd. “I think what you’re looking at is someone who wanted to get out unseen.”

“Yeah because you know it all right?” Aiden snapped.

“Aiden don’t,” Ethan said, walking in to join them. “Let’s go back to where we stayed before, some of her stuff is still there, maybe she went back.”

“I want to come with you,” Boyd said and Aiden just gave him a scowl.

“Come on, it’s not going to hurt,” Ethan said and his brother just grunted and headed for the door.

“Let me know when you’re home,” Derek said, putting a hand on Boyd’s shoulder and the two exchanged a nod.

He and Ethan followed Aiden out and Isaac and Erica walked in past them.

“Did I hear all that right?” Erica said. “Daisy’s gone?”

“The hospital is going to look into it,” Melissa said. “Like I said, sometimes people just don’t want to be treated, we can't force anyone to stay here. The only information they had about her was her name, no family, no nothing. Makes it hard.”

“She didn’t have a family,” Erica said.

Melissa sighed. “Poor kid.”

Isaac looked down at his feet a little, thinking about all the family members he had left. It was a very short list.

“Come on Scott, let’s go,” she said, breaking Isaac’s thoughts and he looked up.

For a moment he and Scott locked eyes but the way Scott turned away just made Isaac’s chest ache and the feeling ran all the way through his body.

Erica slipped her arm through his and gave him a reassuring smile, pulling him towards Stiles’ room a little.

“Did I hear one of those guys say something about an ‘alpha’?” the sheriff asked Stiles as Isaac and Erica walked into the room.

They exchanged a glance and then both looked over to Derek who was very carefully acting nonchalant about it.

“What? What do you mean?” Stiles asked with a big shrug of his shoulders.

“Maybe it was just me hearing it,” he said. “That guy, uh, Cal, he said something about an alpha when he was giving us his confession. I was just trying to figure out what it meant.”

“I’m sure it was nothing dad,” Stiles said quietly.

“You’re probably right, but still,” he said. “I might go and talk to the hospital staff about…”

“Daisy?”

“Yeah, I’ll see if they want a hand with anything, we never did get a statement from her anyway,” he said, squeezing Stiles’ arm and getting up to talk to the nurses in the hall.

All three of them stared down at Stiles who was just playing with his fingers and staring at them intensely.

“Stiles,” Erica said.

He sighed and looked up at them all.

“I know, I know what you’re going to say,” he said. “I need to tell him.”

“Now would be a good a time as ever,” Erica said. “I mean not _here_ necessarily but soon.”

“She’s right you know,” Derek said with folded arms.

“Oh since when do you agree with Erica?” Stiles asked.

“Since I’m obviously right?” she said.

“He needs to know Stiles,” Isaac said. “It’s not really possible to keep it a secret anymore.”

“I’m just worried he won't understand, or that he’ll freak out or something,” Stiles said. “Not everyone is going to take it so freaking lightly.”

“Hey,” Derek said, sitting down beside him. “It’ll be fine, I can be there with you if you like.”

“Yeah, that might not be the best idea you’ve ever had,” Erica said.

They all looked over to her and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Well, first off you’re telling him that supernatural creatures exist and that you’re part of a whole big crazy werewolf pack, second off, you have to tell him that said werewolf pack is kind of the reason you’ve landed in hospital twice in as many years. Do you really want to lead with ‘this guy that I’ve been dating who you once arrested and is like six years older than me, yeah, he’s this ‘alpha’ that you keep hearing about?” she said. “Your dad has a gun, maybe start with someone like Scott who he’s known most of your life and you know, wouldn’t hurt a fly or some other bullshit like that.”

They all stared at her for a minute before Derek shrugged.

“Again, she’s probably right.”

“Okay this is a weird day, Daisy disappearing without anyone even noticing, the two of you agreeing… it’s like I woke up in another dimension or something,” Stiles said.

“Why don’t you just get ready to go home?” Derek said with a smile.

 

It wasn’t much longer before the doctor came back with paperwork for Stiles and his dad to sign. He had missed his house, he’d only been in hospital for a short time but after a concrete floor and the incredible discomfort of sleeping amid chains and steel pillars, home was about the best sounding place in the world.

Erica dragged Isaac up to see Allison after they’d said goodbye to Stiles, there wasn’t much longer until visiting hours closed for the night so they figured they’d make the most of it.

The sheriff was driving Stiles home and Derek promised he’d come and see him once he’d taken the other two back home. He’d promised the sheriff to let Stiles have some time to rest, but that had never stopped him from coming in through the window.

Stiles worried that he might have been asleep by the time he did show up, so he took an extra-long time in the shower and paced around the room as he waited.

Sure enough, he saw Derek’s face at the window and ran over to lift it open, even though it was already unlocked.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” Derek asked and Stiles shrugged.

“I knew if I got into bed I’d basically fall asleep the second I hit, I wanted to wait for you,” he said.

Derek shook his head and pointed to the bed. “Get in.”

Stiles gave him a grin and climbed in, crawling over to give Derek enough space to join him.

“And no, before you even try, _no_ ,” he said and Stiles just scoffed.

“Oh come on, I wasn’t going to try anything,” he said.

“Oh really?” Derek asked as he stripped out of his jacket and jeans. “Why are you wearing aftershave?”

Stiles paused for a moment before letting out a loud huff. “Never mind, I’m too tired for that anyway.”

“Before we’re off the subject though,” Derek said, slipping in under the sheets and pulling Stiles into him with a light peck to his shoulder. “I think we need to take a bit of a time out on that.”

Stiles wriggled away from him and turned to give him an incredulous look. “A what now?”

“Before you start complaining just listen to me,” he said and then sighed. “The way we started… it was _all_ that―”

“And it was pretty awesome, by the way,” Stiles said.

“I could have really hurt you,” Derek said. “And in the beginning I almost… didn’t care about that.”

“I know, it’s okay―”

“Stiles, I’m trying to say something here,” he said and Stiles just lay his head back and gazed up at him. “I’m _trying_ to say that I don’t like how I was with you, and before you say something to interrupt me I don’t mean that it wasn’t good, I mean that you deserved better. I think we should hold out for a while.”

“Hold out as in… abstain from any… extracurricular activities?” Stiles asked.

“You’ll be eighteen soon,” Derek said. “Maybe we could try doing something―”

“Nineteen-thirties heteronormative?”

“ _Stiles_.”

“Alright, okay, I get what you’re saying but really, I don’t have a problem with the way we started,” he said. “But I’m not eighteen until right before graduation, that’s like―”

“Stiles, it’s not that far away, you know that right?” Derek said with a smile.

“How about we make a compromise then?” he offered and Derek narrowed his eyes.

“A compromise?”

A grin spread across Stiles’ face and he gave a little shrug. “Prom?”

“Oh no…”

“Come on, I won't be eighteen but it’ll be like one of those crappy stupid high school traditions. If you insist of re-virginising me then at least give me the high school cliché of re-de-virginising on prom night.”

“You watch too much television.”

“Come on Derek, prom is only a few weeks away and you know… you could always…”

“I am not going with you,” he said with a shake of his head and a small sigh. “But I _will_ agree to your compromise on one condition.”

Stiles grinned. “What?”

“You roll over and get some sleep,” he said, leaning in to brush their lips together, closing his eyes to savour the moment.

Stiles grunted a little but did it anyway, wriggling back into Derek and just letting out a very tired exhale.

“I missed you,” he said softly and Derek’s lips pressed down gently against the back of his head, arms wrapping around his waist tightly.

“I love you,” Derek replied.

“Did… did you hear from Boyd?”

“Go to sleep.”

“Come on just―”

“They went back to where Daisy’s belongings were,” he said. “They were all gone.”

“So she really left then?”

“Looks that way.”

Stiles sighed a little, closing his eyes.

“Derek?”

“ _What_?”

“… I love you too.”

“Go to _sleep_.”

 

 

Isaac knew this was probably a bad idea. He knew that Scott wanted some space but he couldn’t just leave him be without at least trying to say something.

He knew he wasn’t ready to talk, it was obvious by the way he avoided him at the hospital. But he had to try.

He walked quickly along his street until he was looking up at the door to Scott’s house. He exhaled heavily as he knocked three times.

He could hear him coming, it was unmistakeably him and there was no way he didn’t know who was standing on the porch on the other side of the door.

Still, it opened slowly.

Scott stood in the doorway, his furrowed brow and tight-lipped stance giving away nothing more than he intended.

“Hi,” Isaac said softly. “I didn’t know if―”

“Look, Isaac, I said I needed some time and this… this just isn’t enough.”

“Please Scott, just give me the chance to explain a few things, we can talk about this―”

“I don’t want to talk about it Isaac!”

Isaac was a little taken aback, swallowing down the ache he felt at Scott’s harsh words.

“Scott, _please_ , we can't move past this if we don’t talk―”

“I can’t, I can't do this right now, you just… you need to let me just be alone for a while.”

“I went to see Peter!” Isaac said quickly and Scott actually looked him in the eye.

“Why would you do that?”

“I know what happened in Denver,” he said and Scott’s eyes dropped again with a sight shake of his head. “I had to find out so I could say what I needed to with a clear conscience.”

“And can you?” his voice had a bitter edge to it that Isaac knew was just pain in disguise.

“Of course I can,” he said. “I would never do anything like that to hurt you, I knew that already, I just wanted it all to be clear.”

“It doesn’t change anything right now,” Scott said. “ _Please_ , just give me some time to―”

“How much time?” Isaac asked, throwing his hands up. “If this is the end then why don’t you just―”

“Isaac just stop!” he yelled. “Please just… go.”

Isaac looked up at him a moment.

“Scott can I _just_ ―”

“How many times do I have to ask, just _go_.”

With that he stepped back inside and shut the door, leaning a moment against the frame before shoving himself away from it roughly.

He walked back through the kitchen with a stoic face and Melissa looked up from the meal she had on the stove.

“Everything alright Scott?” she asked.

“It’s fine mom,” he said, trying to head out towards the stairs.

“Wait a sec, come here,” he turned to see her walking over to him.

She slipped her arm around his shoulder and leaned in to kiss his head.

“I know it’s easy to be angry, it’s even easier to use that anger to avoid talking about whatever it is that’s causing it,” she said. “I don’t want to try and tell you how you should feel, or how to run your relationships but take it from someone who’s been in a few in her time, if you don’t let him explain or talk about all of this now, you might never get the chance.”

“Mom I can't deal with any of it right now, I just want to figure out how _I_ feel about it,” he said with a sigh.

“Good, make sure you take the time for that, focus on school and tour grades, but trust me when I say that leaving a wound like this open without trying to at least put a patch over it… it might never heal right.”

“You know I’m not good with metaphors mom,” he said.

She smiled. “When your dad left, we let a lot of things go unsaid. On both sides. Eventually there was too much to say but both of us had already accepted that it was over so we never said any of it. Don’t make my mistake and live to regret what you _didn’t_ say. Take time to figure out what you need, but if you wait too long, you’ll lose him anyway.”

He reached around to hug her and she squeezed him tightly. All she wanted was for him to be happy and like any parent she hated to see him hurting.

“Go upstairs, take a shower, I’ll call you when dinner’s ready,” she said, finally letting him go.

He nodded.

“Thanks mom,” he said, turning on his heel to head to the bathroom.

Melissa sighed, she had forgotten what it was like to be young and in love. She looked out towards the door and walked quickly towards it, pulling it open to see Isaac walking out onto the street.

“Isaac!” she called and he turned around, his eyes glassy and his hands shoved firmly in his pockets.

“Mrs McCall?” he said.

She walked out towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“ _Melissa_ ,” she said with a gentle smile. “Are you okay?”

“I…” he mumbled, tripping over his words and looking down at his feet.

“Isaac I just want you to know, that whatever is going on with you and Scott… whatever happens, you can always come to me if you need something,” she said.

He looked up and into her kind eyes and she sighed a little.

“I mean it Isaac, no one should…” she winced a little, like she thought she was saying things all wrong. “If you need someone to talk to, or a safe place to be, or just… dinner, you can come to me, alright?”

“Thank you,” he said with a hint of surprise in his voice. “You don’t have to―”

“Anything you need, okay?” she said again, pulling him in for a quick hug and he felt himself reaching out to hug her back.

No one had ever been as uncompromisingly kind to him as Melissa McCall had been.

“Chin up, okay?” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to walk back into the house.

While she had spread warmth through him with her kindness she had all but cemented his thoughts into one clear line of thinking.

No one had said it, not directly anyway, but sometimes you don’t need to hear a big proclamation to know when it was the end.


	52. Chapter Fifty-Two

_A few weeks later…_

 

Stiles and Erica sat idly on the steps leading up to Stiles’ front door. His foot tapped quickly and she just looked over at him wishing he would just relax.

“They better get here soon, I want to look hot tonight and my window of time to do that is getting smaller by the minute,” she said.

“My dad is literally two minutes away,” he said.

“And Scott?” she asked.

Stiles sighed.

“I don’t know, we haven’t talked much since I got out of the hospital. I don’t know if he’s talked much to anyone really.”

Erica scoffed a little.

“Come on, don’t do that, you can't just blatantly take sides―”

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because they’re both our friends,” he said.

“But don’t you think they should at least _talk_ to one another?”

“Yes but it’s not _my_ relationship, they’re probably getting as much action as I am right now…”

Erica laughed. “Oh yeah, how’s that going for you?”

“I mean I try to break the rules as much as possible but after tonight I won't have to,” he said.

“Right, the whole re-de-virginising,” she said. “Did I say that right?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Are you sure you want to be telling your father about werewolves on the same night as prom?”

He sighed.

“I put it off when we were studying, then during exams, I can't put it off anymore. I’ve psyched myself up for it and if Scott shows up and my dad gets home from work like they were supposed to have done like twenty minutes ago… then it’ll all go to plan.”

“You think he’ll freak out?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “He’s the kind of person who needs to see it to believe it, and I’ve been in the good books ever since the whole kidnapping thing so hopefully― where the hell have you been?”

Scott was walking over to them from across the road, hands in his pockets and checking down the street as he crossed it.

“Sorry,” he said.

Erica leant back on her elbows and just looked up at him.

“Your dad not home yet?” he asked.

“No, not yet, like five minutes away,” he said.

“You said that five minutes ago.”

Stiles turned to glare at Erica.

“You’re already beautiful, I doubt an extra twenty minutes in front of a mirror is going to affect you that much,” he said.

“True, but still.”

“Are you, uh… are you going or…” Stiles said, looking up at Scott.

He looked down at his feet with a shake of his head.

“Right, okay.”

“Car!” Erica said and they all looked to the end of the street where the sheriff’s car was turning in.

The two of them stood up quickly and Erica and Scott heard Stiles’ heart start pounding a whole lot faster.

When the sheriff turned into the driveway and got out of his car he looked over at the three of them suspiciously.

“Hey guys,” he said. “What are you all doing out here?”

“Hey dad, can I talk to you about something?” Stiles said and the sheriff just stopped with a raised eyebrow.

“What did you do?” he said right away.

“Dad, nothing… but I really, _we_ , need to show you something.”

“Alright, are you kids in some kind of trouble again because I’ve got to say it’s getting a little too regular for my liking,” the sheriff said and Stiles just looked down at his feet with a sigh.

“Maybe we should take this inside?” Erica said and the sheriff was looking more and more panicked by the second. “It’s not bad sheriff, I swear.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Alright, come on,” he said and they made their way into the house.

He went to the study to take off his equipment and put his files on his desk, the teenagers went straight for the lounge.

Stiles couldn’t stop moving, pacing back and forth while Scott and Erica sat on the couch and watched him.

“Okay, alright, this is fine, he’s going to be cool about it right?” he said, looking over at them both with his squinty thinking eyes. “Don’t answer that.”

Scott sighed, shaking his head a little and Erica looked over at him with a harsh stare. As if feeling her eyes on him he looked over and she rolled her eyes as she turned her head away.

“What? What is it?” he asked.

She turned back with a sour look on her lips. “Where the hell have you been? I know shit gets hard but you couldn’t even say hello in the hallways?”

Scott shook his head and this time it was his turn to look away.

“Yeah, ignore me, don’t know why I expected any different…”

He stood up and Stiles turned to him, grabbing his shoulders and looking at him with wide eyes.

“No, no, no, Scott, please,” he said quickly. “You’ve got to help me out here.”

“I can't just sit here listening to her say―”

“You don’t have to,” Stiles said, looking over Scott’s shoulder to where Erica sat. “Does it _really_ have to be _now_ that you pick a fight?”

She put up her hands and sunk back into the couch.

Scott sighed and folded his arms as he went and stood to the side.

“Thank you,” Stiles said, exhaling in one sharp breath as the sheriff walked in.

“Okay, I’m here, what’s going on?” he asked.

Stiles felt suddenly lost for words. He’d planned a whole lot of things to say but he never really decided where he was going to start.

“Maybe you should sit down?” Erica said with a shrug.

“Alright you kids better tell me what this is all about or I’m going to get really impatient,” he said.

“Alright,” Stiles said as the sheriff tentatively sat down in an armchair. “Before I start though you need to really open up your mind, I mean _really_ open it up, because I’m not trying to be funny or make jokes I’m being completely and totally one hundred―”

“Stiles,” the sheriff said. “What is it?”

“Dad, I mean it.”

He looked up at him for a moment before nodding with a heavy sigh.

“Okay, so… I know it hasn’t been easy for you, all these years working at the station and so many unsolved cases. A lot of… confusing things happen here. Well, there’s a good explanation for all of it. Not so much rational or logical and you’re probably going to think I’m crazy… but that’s why Scott and Erica are here.

“I need you to believe me and just, be on my side here? Please?”

“I am always on your side Stiles, you just need to tell me what’s going on,” he said and Stiles nodded.

“Beacon Hills… well, the town has always been a spot for weird things – occurrences,” he said. “It’s not just the whole ‘small town’ things we’ve got going on. It’s the fact that it’s been… well, there’s been a pretty heavy presence of… supernatural beings for a while now. In particular… werewolves.”

The sheriff was just looking up at him like he was telling a joke and waiting for a punchline. In the silent gap Stiles was able to start rambling away about everything, in none of the ways he had practiced earlier. It was a quick and long word vomit about everything that’s happened in the last few years and why he’s been in so much trouble.

He mentioned that Scott was turned and that’s how he became involved, talking about how they found out that there used to be a whole family of wolves in the area, the Hale’s. The sheriff’s eyes grew a little wide at that and Stiles had to explain how the Hale fire was caused by Kate Argent, a member of one of the families who hunts down werewolves.

He explained about Allison and her family, about Peter, though not in great detail and he failed to mention that Derek had to slash his uncle’s throat to become the alpha. He told him about how the others got turned and about the Kanima, he explained how they had dealt with a creature called a Maeve and how they became involved again when another pair of hunters, ones who had been only partially trained, came to Beacon Hills looking to kill supernatural beings.

It almost seemed like he didn’t breathe between saying any of it and when he finally finished he was practically out of breath.

“So… you have to say something,” Stiles said as his dad just gaped up at him.

“So you… you’re saying that you’re in a group of _werewolves_ , and you were nearly killed by those two because―”

“They were trying to rid the world of the supernatural and I was apparently an easy way to get to Derek,” he said, finishing his sentence.

“And Derek is the ‘alpha’?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah,” Stiles said. “And it’s a pack, not a group but I mean that’s not important…”

The sheriff nodded, the look of confusion still on his face as he looked from Scott to Erica.

“And I’m supposed to believe that the two of you just… turn into wolves on a full moon?” he said.

“It’s not really like that,” Erica said. “I mean yeah, the full moon is a pain in the ass but it’s not a full transformation and we can do it any time.”

Scott nodded to him and the sheriff shook his head. “If you kids are taking some kind of drug then I think―”

“We’re not taking anything dad! Please just…” he sighed. “I know it’s hard to take in but you needed to know, it’s going to be better this way.”

“Are we going to…” Erica said, putting up her hands like claws in front of her and snapping her teeth together.

Stiles narrowed his eyes at her but he put his hand on his dad’s shoulder as he sat.

“Please don’t freak out,” he said. “Scott, buddy, now would be an awesome time to jump in.”

“It’s just me sheriff,” he said as he looked to Stiles for quick reassurance. “Remember that okay?”

The sheriff looked scared of what was to come, eyes darting from one teen to another as Scott lowered his head.

The sheriff’s eyes grew wide as he saw parts of Scott’s face change. Even with his head bowed he could see the shape of his ears and the hair on his cheeks flourish. He could even see his nails extending into claws.

Scott looked up slowly, fangs in his mouth and his brow and cheeks jutting out. He opened his eyes to reveal their deep golden shade and the sheriff was staring with his mouth wide open and giving an involuntary shake of his head.

Erica stood up beside him, the wolf spreading out over her features as he watched.

“That’s not… that can't be…”

“I would have got Derek to come and do it but he’s a little scarier and you have a gun in the house so I thought maybe not,” Stiles said and Erica glared at him.

“Nice, Stiles,” she said.

“How can that be real?” the sheriff said under his breath.

“It’s a lot to take but come on dad, hasn’t there ever been a moment in your life where something happened that you couldn’t explain? Where you knew that there had to be something more going on?” he asked and the sheriff looked up at him.

He saw the memory of a boy sitting in a hospital waiting room, his heart shattered after losing his mother and his father hadn’t been there with him in the moment. He’d been at work, the scene of a crash where he hadn’t wanted to leave the woman in the car even though she’d told him that he needed to go.

He didn’t listen, he didn’t believe that there could be anything more to it than what he could see in front of him. But now, all of those things that could never possibly be true, that he’d worked his whole life to believing were just fairy tales and stories, they were all standing in his living room and he couldn’t just ignore them.

“Werewolves?” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” Stiles said.

Scott’s face began to change back to normal.

“My mom didn’t take it too well when she found out,” he said. “Maybe you could talk to her?”

“That would be a great idea, right dad?” Stiles said and the sheriff nodded a little, still trying to wrap his head around it all. “You’ve got nothing to do while I’m at prom, right?”

His face snapped up and Stiles gave him a weak smile.

“Prom?” he said.

“Uh…”

“You tell me that there are werewolves and hunters and… _lizard people_ and you want to talk to me about your high school _prom_?” he asked.

“I may have underestimated how weird this stuff is for people who don’t know about it…” he said.

“ _Might have_?” he said.

“I’ll call my mom,” Scott said and Erica folded her arms and leant against the wall.

“Technically it was only _one_ lizard person,” she said to herself. “And he’s _never_ going to live that one down.”

“You are quite possibly the least helpful person ever,” Stiles said.

“Werewolves?” the sheriff said again, seeming to sink back into his chair a little more.

The man may have just aged ten years in the last ten minutes.

“My mom said she could come by after work and talk,” Scott said, putting his phone back into his pocket. “She’s been in on the whole werewolf thing for a while now.”

“Thanks man,” Stiles said.

He looked over at his dad who was just sitting there and staring off into space. He wondered whether he was ever going to get used to it.

“Yeah, so she finishes in like an hour so she’ll be here then,” he said.

Stiles turned back to look at him, giving him a clap on the shoulder and squeezing it a little.

“You okay Scott?” he asked a little quieter.

“I’m just tired is all,” he said.

“You should come to the prom tonight,” he said. “Everyone is going and next year things are going to change… who knows how much longer we’ll all have together before we’re travelling around for college and… you know, travel.”

“I don’t think everyone would be so happy for me to be there,” he said his eyes looking over to Erica who was bringing the sheriff a glass of water.

“She’s just protecting her pack okay? Just ignore her,” he said. “Scott you can't… look nothing is over until it’s over and you can't just let things go when you think they’re gone you have to keep trying. I know you’re not ready for it all to be over, I mean why else would you seem so freaking miserable?”

Scott just looked down at his feet, a lot running through his mind.

“Just, think about coming, okay? It’s not too late,” Stiles said.

“Thanks Stiles,” he said and Stiles pulled him in for a hug.

“I hate seeing you like this man,” he said. “Just figure out what you want and who gives a shit about the rest of it.”

They held one another for a moment longer before they were pulling themselves apart and Scott was heading for the door.

“Sorry if we… uh… sorry about… this,” he said to the sheriff as he passed and he just nodded, looking up to Stiles with a sigh.

“We’ll give you guys a couple of minutes alone,” Erica said, following Scott towards the door.

As soon as it was shut behind them Scott sighed loudly.

“Whatever you’re going to say just say it,” he said, turning to face her and she folded her arms.

“I know it’s not my place, I get that, but you’re not helping anyone. Not Isaac, not Stiles, not yourself… you have to make a choice and then move on from it,” she said. “It’s not like it’s an easy one but come on, is what you were fighting about _really_ worth losing someone like him over?”

“I don’t―”

“Don’t talk right now,” she cut in. “Figure out what you’re actually mad about and then work on that. Just… don’t leave it up in the air like this.”

She didn’t let him say anything else, she just started walking away to let him think about what she said and after another heavy sigh Scott shoved his hands into his pockets and headed off in the opposite direction.

 

The sheriff waited until he heard the front door shut before he said anything. Stiles was just standing on the other side of the room with shuffling feet and a nervous expression. He looked up at his father and realised he didn’t look so scared anymore.

“You really waited more than a year to tell me this?” he asked.

Stiles shrugged his shoulders, looking down a little.

“Would you have believed me?”

The sheriff sighed, getting up out of his seat.

“Probably not,” he said. “I still don’t know if I believe it.”

“Well, whether you believe it or not… it’s real, and it’s not going to change any time soon.”

“I know.”

Silence filled the room for a minute.

“You got yourself involved with someone who calls himself an alpha?” he said with an eyebrow raised high on his forehead.

“He doesn’t ‘call himself’… yeah okay, so maybe that sounds worse than it is but dad, they aren’t― I mean Derek and Scott, and Erica… _all_ of them, they aren’t dangerous. All we’ve been doing is trying to stay safe and help where we can. I just thought it was time you knew, maybe now we can help _you_. “

“You really… I mean these things… there’s really _that many_ of them out there?” he asked.

“We probably only know like a fraction of what’s out there,” he said.

“Well that’s unsettling.”

“Tell me about it,” he said.

“This is… it’s not going to be easy to wrap my head around,” he said and Stiles nodded. “But I can't ignore what I just saw.”

Stiles let out a sigh of relief and his dad pulled him in for a hug.

“When Melissa comes over you can talk about how weird it is and you know, bond over your strange kids.”

The sheriff actually managed a laugh.

“And you’ll be what? Off going to _prom_ with your non-human friends like it’s not so strange?”

“You kind of get used to it,” Stiles said and his dad stepped back, shaking his head a little.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“So I’m going to take a shower,” he said, edging towards the stairs. “I told Isaac he could come over here before we go tonight so he had somewhere to get ready that wouldn’t drive Derek crazy.”

“He’s not going with you?” the sheriff raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, please try not to kill Derek because I told you about the whole wolf thing, please just try to stay level-headed about it,” he said.

“About the fact that my son is dating a guy who turns into an animal?” he said.

“When you say it like that it sounds weird, and he doesn’t _turn into_ an― you know what I should get you a handbook or something.”

“You mean like ‘help my son is involved with a supernatural being’?”

“And you wonder why the only response you ever get from me is sarcasm,” Stiles said.

The sheriff’s face softened into a smile.

“You go, get ready,” he said, running a hand through his hair as Stiles made his way towards his room. “I need a drink.”

“I bet,” Stiles said.

“Hey Stiles?”

“Yeah dad?” he said, turning back to face him.

“I don’t have to worry about you turning into some kind of creature, do I?”

He smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got college in my sights, not claws.”

His dad nodded. “Have you told anyone yet?”

“Not yet,” he said.

“I’m proud of you son,” he said and Stiles felt his heart melt a little.

“Thanks dad.”

He made his way to his room, the whole afternoon having gone better that he had expected, almost perfectly in fact. His smile stretched over his face and he opened the door to Derek sitting on his bed.

“You finally told him,” he said.

Stiles grinned even wider and launched himself at Derek, sending them both crashing back into the sheets. Derek grumbled but Stiles just rolled himself over so that he was lying on his chest with his legs straddling his waist.

“Was that necessary?” Derek asked.

“Obviously,” Stiles said, dipping his head in to catch Derek’s lips with his own.

After a moment Derek pulled them away and shook his head.

“No,” he said. “You only have to wait until after your prom, that was the deal.”

“So I’m impatient, sue me.”

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek grumbled.

“You know, saying my name isn’t going to deter me,” he said.

Derek just raised an eyebrow and pushed him off easily, switching their positons and pinning Stiles’ hands to the bed as he held him still.

“And using force isn’t going to deter me,” he said and Stiles exhaled heavily.

“Come on, I am literally going to prom in two hours, why would you come over if it wasn’t for―”

“I came to drop off Isaac’s suit, seeing as he’s going with you,” he said.

Stiles tried to look over his shoulder to see the garment bag hanging over the wardrobe door. He grinned up at him warmly.

“Doting on your favourite beta?” he cooed.

“He’s not my favourite,” he said.

“Oh, right, I’m sure you’re about to tell me that you don’t have a favourite and that you love them all equally―”

“Boyd is my favourite, if you’re making me choose.”

“What? You actually have a favourite?” Stiles asked with a snort.

“He complains less than the rest of them,” he said, climbing off him to sit on the edge of the bed and Stiles chuckled.

Derek had offered to buy a suit for Boyd and a dress for Erica too, Jackson being already wealthy enough to afford something nice. Boyd had declined, he had a suit already and he wanted to wear it.

Erica of course, jumped at the chance. Having never owned anything extravagant in her life she wanted to really make the night worthwhile with a dress she’d never forget.

“You’re a good alpha for them, you know that right?”

Derek just looked down at him and smiled.

“You should shower, you smell like you were just out on the lacrosse pitch,” he said.

“You’d get sweaty too if you had to tell your dad, who just so happens to be the sheriff, that the world is full of all sorts of weird supernatural crap,” he said. “No offence.”

Derek leant in, mouth soft against Stiles’ parted lips.

“None taken,” he said. “Enjoy your night.”

“Still think you should come!” Stiles said as Derek got up to walk towards the window.

He didn’t say anything, he just lifted the window and climbed out, taking no time at all to disappear out of sight.

 

 

Isaac had never really had to dress for a formal occasion before. As he stood in the mirror, eyeing his scruffy hair that had gotten too long on the top and admiring his incredibly lacklustre skills with a neck tie, he couldn’t help but feel the anxiety grow inside of him.

“So your dad seemed to be better than you thought,” he said.

Stiles was sitting on his bed trying to get the scuff marks out of his shoes. He looked up at Isaac and rolled his eyes a little.

“You know, it would be easier for the both of us if you just asked me about him instead of trying to bring him up via me.”

Isaac looked over at him in the mirror, ready to make some kind of quick quip back, but he was right. He had been subtly trying to bring up Scott without having to _actually_ say his name since he’d arrived.

“Did he seem…”

“Upset? Angry? Like a weight was sitting on his shoulders? Yeah, okay, he looked like he has done for the past three weeks at school,” he said, and Isaac went back to looking at his tie. “Erica was kind of cold with him.”

“That doesn’t shock me,” he said, giving up on the tie for the time being. “Why are we even going to this thing?”

“Because it’s a stupid high school tradition and if you don’t go then you’ll regret it,” Stiles said.

“I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to add another thing to that list,” he said.

“This is one of the last times we’re all going to be together, okay?” he said and Isaac turned to look at him. “Next year is college and travelling and change… I know high school is painful and awful but we are never going to be all together like this again. I think we should at least make the most of it.”

Isaac sighed.

“I really thought this year would finish differently,” he said.

“Plenty of year left Isaac.”

“School year then,” he said. “Would you stop being so upbeat and help me with this stupid thing? I can't tie them on myself.”

Stiles smiled, getting up and walking over to him. “Funny thing is I can _only_ them on myself.”

He took the tie and put it around his own neck, looking the loops and re-doing it twice before he got it right.

“Just stop dwelling on it,” he said.

“I really think it’s over Stiles, he hasn’t said a word to me since we had that fight.”

“Well then maybe Erica’s right,” he said. “Maybe you have to find a way to move on.”

“Do you have a better option for me?”

“Clone him and keep it in your room for safe keeping?”

“You have a limit on advice you can give out, don’t you?”

“If I could control it I would.”

They finished getting ready in mostly silence. In reality they were getting ready to celebrate but that was the last thing Isaac felt like doing.

 

By the time they were ready and made their way downstairs Melissa was sitting in the living room with the sheriff and a glass of wine in her hand. Stiles stopped and made a joke about how they were bonding and they both just gave him a look.

The sheriff got up to tell him that he looked good, and to fix his tie. Stiles was apparently not the most masterful at it.

When Isaac came down he looked over at Melissa and then away quickly. He hadn’t seen her since that night outside her house when he had tried to talk to Scott.

She gave him a warm gaze, getting up and making her way over to him.

“Well don’t you look sharp,” she said with a smile. “Let me fix that.”

She took on the job of fixing his tie and he still said nothing. What was there to say?

“Hey,” she said and he finally looked up. “Are you okay?”

“I just… feels weird to be so dressed up,” he said.

“Yeah, well make the most of it,” she said. “Feels good to dress up every now and then.”

He smiled and she finished with his tie, putting her hands on his shoulders and brushing them off.

“There, that’s perfect.”

“Thanks Melissa,” he said softly and she leant up to kiss his cheek before giving his arm a squeeze.

“Come on Isaac let’s get going!” Stiles said from by the door.

The two gave one another a last look before they were heading out and getting into the jeep.

Melissa and the sheriff stood in the doorway and watched them drive off.

“Are they really graduating? I swear it was kindergarten just last year,” he said and Melissa chucked.

“Sure feels that way,” she said. “One minute they won't let go of your hand to go to school, the next they’re―”

“Turning into mythical creatures?” he said and Melissa laughed.

“Yeah, that too.”


	53. EPILOGUE

Prom was something that had seemed like such a huge event at one stage in their lives. It was all they heard their classmates talk about in the three weeks they had been back focussing on their schoolwork.

Part of them felt like it was stupid to even _want_ to go considering everything.

But it was a tradition, a small hint of normality that was so often missing in all of their lives, and like Stiles had said, it was probably the last time they would all be together. Well, most of them.

Stiles and Isaac were there first, snagging a table big enough for the lot of them and waiting. Jackson and Lydia came with Allison next, Jackson looking more exasperated than was necessary but at least he was there. Erica was next, her dress was probably the standout of their entire senior class and her cheeks gleamed as she strutted towards them with pride.

“Come on, there’s no point in waiting, let’s just dance!” Stiles said over the music and managed to drag Lydia up with him.

Jackson slipped away to find Danny, any excuse to avoid dancing was a good one.

Erica watched Stiles and his erratic moves, Lydia and her annoyingly perfect ones and her cheeks dimpled as she laughed at him.

“You know, I never even thought I would come to one of these,” Erica said, sitting in the seat beside Isaac and Allison.

“You never imagined your prom?” she asked.

Erica shook her head. “Too many flashing lights, loud music, the heat… I couldn’t even get through English without having a seizure, prom was the last thing I ever thought I would be doing.”

Isaac and Allison locked eyes for a moment and Erica chuckled.

“Relax, I was used to the idea by the time I got to high school,” she said. “Never thought I’d feel like this though.”

Allison smiled at the glow in her cheeks.

“So Derek bought your dress?”

Erica nodded. “And Isaac’s suit.”

“How much money does he actually have?” she asked.

“I make it my business not to ask people those kinds of questions,” Isaac said.

“Boyd!” Erica said, getting up with a big grin and running to him.

Something was off about him, he pulled Erica into his arms as she leapt at him but his smile didn’t quite compare to usual.

“You okay?” she said, pulling back and he forced a bigger smile onto his lips with a nod.

“I’m okay,” he said and Allison and Isaac gave one another a look all over again.

“Well I’m going to try and get Stiles to dance _in_ time with the music,” she said, giving the three of them a beaming smile before rushing over to throw her arms around Lydia.

Boyd’s smile turned a little more genuine.

“She’s really happy, huh?” he said.

“You would be too if you’d given up on ever going to your prom,” Allison said. “What’s with the flower?”

Isaac looked down at the small lapel ornament in his hand and Boyd ran his finger over it gently.

“It’s from Daisy,” he said and for the third time, Isaac and Allison exchanged a glance before looking back to Boyd.

“She’s back?” Isaac said.

“Where is she?” Allison added.

Boyd looked up at them both with a shrug. “I have no idea.”

He had made his way home that afternoon before getting ready for the prom. When he had opened the door to his room the window was wide open, a state in which he never left it.

The moment he had stepped inside he felt her scent embrace him, he felt his heart flutter in an instant but there was no one else inside. He would have heard if there was.

He looked over to his bed that sat beneath the window and saw something laid out over it. As he stepped closer he saw it to be a petite sundress, frill on the shoulders and a sweetheart cut, one he had seen her in before.

Atop the dress lay a small piece of paper and the lapel flower above that.

His fingertips brushed the soft fabric and he breathed in deeply, she must have only been there mere minutes before he arrived home.

He took the flower in his hand and the paper in the other.

_I wish I could be with you tonight. You have so much good in you Vernon, I hope one day our paths will cross again. With love, Daisy._

His mind read the words over and over again as though they might change the moment he finished them but each time they remained the same.

She had been there, she had been _right there_ , just as she had always been, like smoke.

“Here,” Allison said, getting up and taking the pin from his hands.

He looked at her in confusion for a moment before she clipped it to the front of his suit.

“I just wish I knew where she was going,” he said and Allison gave his arm a squeeze. “Or that she’s okay.”

“So find her,” she said.

Before either of them said another word Jackson was back with Danny in tow and the other three were back from their stint on the dancefloor.

“Danny _boy_!” Stiles said, head still bobbing to the beat.

Danny shook his head. “You alright there?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? This is our night, _our_ night, we should be celebrating!” Stiles said and even Jackson managed to crack a smile.

“Take it easy disco fever,” Erica said. “Maybe hydrate yourself first.”

He grinned and they took their seats at their saved table, taking the chance to talk and laugh with one another. Isaac didn’t much feel like any of that. He mostly just smiled along, never quite joining in.

Laughter felt empty, like a place inside him that had once been filled with something only for it to have vanished. He wondered how long it would be that way, whether it was part of losing the triggered bond that had been sealed or whether it was just what love felt like when it was taken away.

The music slowed to a ballad of sorts, and Isaac watched as the people on the dancefloor paired off and began the lyrical sway in one another’s arms. He sighed, looking down at his hands.

Lydia kicked Jackson’s heels under the table and he rolled his eyes but stood up without a fuss and let her lead him to the dancefloor.

Erica and Stiles sat back in their chairs with their arms folded and gave one another a scoff. Allison just rolled her eyes at them, leaning her head on her chin with a smile.

Isaac couldn’t quite stomach it to look up, every longing note in the music made his chest ache and the empty place inside of him seemed to grow ever wider.

He had never imagined his prom before, never really thought about it in the over-romanticised way that teenagers were supposed to. But now that he was there he seemed to believe he would have imagined it differently.

It _was_ their night, one of the last as a group of high school students, one of the nights that marked the end of an era in their lives, and he couldn’t even enjoy it because the one person he had wanted to share everything with wasn’t there.

Stiles looked over at Danny with a grin and he just raised an eyebrow with a shake of his head. Stiles pouted but they both laughed.

Isaac felt a stirring inside him and took in a deep breath, turning just as someone put their hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” Scott said and Isaac stood quickly from his chair.

He didn’t say anything, the only thing he could think to say was ‘hey’ but his mouth couldn’t quite form the word.

Scott looked nervous at first, but upon seeing the worried look in Isaac’s eyes his face softened and he even managed a weak smile.

“I thought maybe you might… want to dance?” he said slowly. “And talk?”

The rest of them at the table just looked up at them but neither one took any notice and Isaac just nodded, taking Scott’s hand gingerly as he stepped towards him and both made their way to the dancefloor.

Isaac’s heart was hardly beating so much as it was thrumming with nervous energy. By the sound of it, Scott’s was much the same.

When they found a spot there was a pause, in the place where affection used to be such an easy things there was hesitance.

Scott sighed a little, reaching up to put his arms around Isaac’s neck and Isaac instinctively wrapped his hands around his waist, their bodies swaying a little to the music.

“I didn’t think you were coming,” Isaac said quietly.

“Me either.”

“So why did you?” he asked.

Scott looked up for a moment as if he didn’t quite know the answer himself. He sighed heavily.

“I’m probably just going to start talking now and everything’s going to come out of my mouth even if I don’t want it to… but I didn’t say anything for so long that I guess I have to now,” he said and Isaac nodded.

“I won't interrupt you,” he said.

“It’s just… I was angry, and hurt, and that was immediately after, and I just… I didn’t want to say something that I would regret and I wanted to figure out what I really wanted after it all. I know I should have spoken to you earlier, believe me, I know that… but it got to a point where suddenly it had been so long without us saying anything and I’d… I’d said some things to you and the silence between us… it was easier to have the silence and the idea that maybe there was still something between us in that silence than to speak to you and know for sure that it was over,” he said, maybe all in one breath. “I still didn’t even know how I felt. I guess maybe I over thought it too much.”

Isaac nodded a moment, taking it all in because he understood the part about the silence. It had hung in the air between them, leaving them in a state of limbo where so long as they didn’t speak it wasn’t really over, but they weren’t really together either.

“Do you know now?” he asked.

“I was upset, obviously, about how you said… how you offered to leave with her,” he said.

Isaac bit down on his tongue, he had to let Scott have his say before he said anything, the last thing he wanted was to argue when they could talk about it instead.

“It didn’t take long to figure out that it was that maybe you wouldn’t be sacrificing anything to leave with her, because of how you used to feel about her. I understand leaving to try and save someone’s life, I do, it was just that I never thought one of us would have to make that choice,” he said. “That still lingered in my mind but the more I thought about it… the more I was upset about the fact that you lied.”

Isaac opened his mouth to say something but then he realised that he had lied. He hadn’t told Scott the full truth about Denver because he was scared about what could have happened. So he closed his mouth and let Scott continue.

“You told me what happened in Denver, and that’s a part of what hurt… but you didn’t tell me everything when I thought you had, and that just added to it all.”

“I only didn’t tell you because I didn’t know what happened, I know, I should have told you I couldn’t remember but I didn’t, and I'm so sorry for that Scott,” he said.

They looked at one another a moment, Isaac’s eyes a little glassy and his fear written all over his face.

“I can’t… I can't go back to the way it was before, not yet anyway,” Scott said softly. “I think we need to start this again, maybe talk more… when we’re not on the middle of a dancefloor at our senior prom.”

A smile twitched on his lips and Isaac’s nervous heartbeat turned to hopeful anticipation.

“I don’t want to lose you Isaac, I want to make it work,” he said. “We just need to tell each other the truth, no more lies or secrets… let’s make it work.”

Isaac pulled him in tighter, his nose pressing against Scott’s neck and just breathing in the scent of him. Scott’s fingers slipped up into Isaac’s soft curls and he held him there a moment, bodies still swaying and eyes closing as they just savoured the feel they had been so achingly missing.

“I’ve missed you,” Isaac murmured against his skin.

Scott pulled back a little, leaning his head against Isaac’s before catching his lips with his own, but only for a moment.

This made it in no way better, or easier, and it would take some work to build up what they had again. Isaac was just thankful that he was holding Scott in his arms and not standing alone knowing that it was over.

“If I’m ever such an idiot and stop talking to you again just… don’t give up, okay? I’m stubborn, just ask my mom,” he said and they both laughed.

“I’ll remember that,” Isaac said. “I still can't believe you came tonight, how did you even get here on time? And in a suit?”

Scott pulled his head back a little more with a shrug. “I hitched a ride.”

“With who?” Isaac said.

 

“Look at them,” Stiles said, looking over to where Isaac and Scott stood with their arms around one another and the smiles returning to their faces. “They are the last two I expected to see out there and what? Even _they_ get the prom dance? I can’t watch.”

“So I take it you’re going to say no when I ask you to dance?”

A grin lit up Stiles’ face as he turned around to see Derek standing behind him, well-fitting suit and all.

“What are you doing here?”

“Someone had to drive Scott over here.”

“You said you weren’t coming to a ‘stupid high school dance’,” he said.

“ _You_ said you wanted to be a cliché,” he said and Stiles got to his feet and practically leapt into his arms, kissing him hard and wrapping himself around him.

“Since when is a high school cliché even applicable to two guys like us?” he said.

“Do you want to dance or not?” Derek said and Stiles was dragging him to the dance floor before he could change his mind.

Erica watched them and scoffed again, despite smiling at the look on Stiles’ smitten face. A scent wafted over, one that she recognised and only a moment after she saw Ethan walk through the crowd.

She looked over to where Danny sat and the two shared a look.

“So you skip the last few weeks of school but show up for the prom?” Danny asked. “Seems like you’re only around for the fun stuff huh?”

Erica chuckled to herself and Allison turned her head away with a grin.

Ethan sighed. “Can we just dance maybe?”

Danny thought about it for a moment before getting up to follow him.

As they made their way into the crowd the smell of him didn’t seem to let up and Erica rolled her eyes.

“Don’t tell me…” she said, turning to the side to see Aiden standing with his hands in his pockets. “No, absolutely not.”

“One dance?” he said with the same sense of apathy in his voice as was in hers.

“No,” she said.

“Come on, just one dance, then I’ll leave you alone for the rest of our lives,” he said and she just glared at him before rolling her eyes and getting to her feet.

“If your hands move from my waist I will throw you across the room,” she said and Aiden gave her a grin as they headed to the floor.

Allison and Boyd just looked over at one another.

“You don’t have to ask,” she said, as if reading his mind.

“I know,” he said. “But if you wanted to…”

She shook her head. “I think I’ll sit this one out, it’s nice to just watch sometimes, you know? Besides, my shoulder’s still a little stiff and you’re really tall.”

He actually managed a laugh and she chuckled along with him, looking out to the others on the dancefloor.

“And hey, I'm _actually_ doing what I said I would, staying single before college. Then again that was only a rule because I wanted to focus but the kind of company I keep threw that right out the window anyway.”

“So you got accepted somewhere?” he asked and she nodded.

“San Diego,” she said with a smile. “Figure if I get a degree in business I can join my dad, keep his ventures moving forward. I’m going hold out on the first semester though.”

“Why is that?”

“Because my dad wants us to travel a little, see Paris, learn about family history and just… just get away and spend some time with each other I guess.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” he said.

“And what about you?” she asked. “Where’s your next step?”

“I was thinking maybe the air force,” he shrugged. “It’s what I always thought I’d do anyway. I’d have to take a course at community college first, improve a few things but one day.”

“And what about Daisy?”

“Well she’s a big part of why I’m so unsure.”

“You should look for her,” Allison said. “If that’s what you want to do, what you think you should do, then do it.”

He smiled a little, fingers reaching up to the flower pinned to his jacket. “Maybe I will.”

“You know Boyd,” Allison said, her smile bringing out the dimples in her cheeks. “We should talk more often.”

 

Lydia rested her head against Jackson’s chest as the two swayed gently. She could hear his heart pounding almost nervously in his chest.

“I suppose we should be making the most of this while it lasts,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.

Lydia pulled her head back, looking up at him with an eyebrow high. “You and I both know exactly what I mean.”

He sighed because of course he did, they’d both known for a long while.

“There’s still a few months left until I leave,” he said. “Besides, who says things need to change that much.”

Lydia’s face softened a little. “You and I both know that we’re not built for a long distance relationship.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Things could change, the offer is still on the table,” he said.

“You and I both have plans, and they clash,” she said.

“Would you reconsider? Come with me and travel,” he said.

“Would you? Move to New York with me while I’m at Harvard,” she said and he sighed, eyes looking away. “You see what I mean? It’s an inevitability, and I wouldn’t ask you to change your dreams, just like I know you wouldn’t ask me to change mine.”

He held her a little tighter, knowing she was right but not sure if he wanted to let go just yet.

There was something he needed to tell her, something he hadn’t had the chance to yet. Stiles had done some research and still they were confused about what she was, but they decided it was up to him to tell her what they knew, even if it was just a few words strung together that had no real meaning as of yet.

“I have to tell you something,” he said. “Something that girl said to us when we were at that warehouse… something about you―”

“Don’t say it,” she whispered.

“Don’t you want to know?”

“Yes,” she said. “But can we please just have one night, _this_ one night to be normal? The way it was supposed to be?”

He sighed, knowing he would tell her, but tonight wouldn’t be that night. So instead he held her in his arms as they swayed and did just what she had said. He would make the most of any moments they had left.

 

Erica and Aiden spent a moment staring one another down when they found a spot on the dancefloor. She narrowed her eyes at him but he just shrugged down at her with an arrogant grin and with a roll of her eyes a smile managed to grace her features.

“So, any particular reason you can back?” she asked.

“Apart from the fact that my brother wanted to make up with his boyfriend? Not really,” he said and she shook her head. “I figured while we were here I might as well drop in, say hi.”

“Oh really?”

The arrogance lifted from him, his eyes showing a little more sincerity.

“Plus, I thought maybe I owed you an apology, for being so much of a dick before,” he said.

“Before doesn’t really narrow it down,” she said.

“Yeah, okay, I guess I deserved that,” he said. “All of it, I guess you could say I’ve gained a little perspective. So, I’m sorry, for being a dick.”

“Well, you were a dick, so I suppose I accept your apology,” she said. “Plus we had a bit of fun I guess.”

“Just a bit?” he said, the arrogance coming right back.

“Don’t push your luck,” she said. “I was actually starting to think you weren’t such a terrible guy.”

He smiled. “I am, but just that you’d think for a moment that maybe I wasn’t, means a lot. And you’re right, we had a few fun times.”

She rolled her eyes again. “Well don’t expect them to run over into tonight.”

“I don’t, I just think you’re not too bad for company either,” he said and she felt her cheeks pink involuntarily.

She shook her head and they didn’t say much more but then again, there wasn’t much more than that to say.

 

Ethan and Danny had been relatively close earlier in the year, especially when the twins first moved into the town. The last few weeks, with everything that had been happening, Ethan had been neglectful and distant and he knew that was something he owed Danny an apology for.

“I know nothing I can say will really help my case here, huh?” he asked.

“I like you Ethan, I mean, I _really_ liked you,” Danny said. “You’re just so unpredictable. And I’ve been with unpredictable guys before, but usually they can send a text or maybe even call to let me know where the hell they’re disappearing to, or whether they’ll be back.”

“I know, there was just so much happening and I wasn’t really dealing with… anything,” he said.

Danny didn’t seem angry, he didn’t even seem upset. He just gave Ethan a smile and sighed gently.

“I guess this is more of a goodbye than anything else right?” he said and Ethan looked up with regret.

“I had to at least try to apologise, I really care about you,” he said. “I just… it’s not really our time, you know?”

“I know,” he said. “And hey, maybe this time you could _try_ and stay in touch.”

Ethan smiled. “I could definitely do that.”

“Good, I hope you will.”

“Sometimes things just get away from me you know? Other things come up and I can't really ignore them,” he said.

Danny nodded.

“I get it,” he said. “I suppose that just comes with the territory of being a werewolf.”

Ethan stopped moving, and somewhere not too far away Jackson’s head snapped in their direction. Danny shook his head a little and gave him a smile.

“You know?” he said.

“Dude, it wasn’t really that hard to figure out,” he said.

Jackson grumbled to himself and Lydia looked up at him curiously.

“I’m going to _kill_ Stiles,” he said and she just rolled her eyes because he was always listening to something.

“You’ve known the whole time?” Ethan asked.

“About you? No,” he said. “About this weird-ass town? Oh yeah, I’ve known about that for a while.”

“You’re not freaked out?”

He shrugged. “Not so much, but I get that things won't exactly be normal and I think maybe I need a little bit of normalcy.”

“This is not the way I expected this conversation to go,” Ethan said and they both managed a laugh. “Not in the slightest.”

“I could say the same about a lot of things,” he said.

“So,” Ethan said. “Maybe we could hold out on ending this until tomorrow?”

Danny grinned. “Yeah, I guess we could do that.”

 

Stiles honestly hadn’t expected Derek to show up, much less in a slick suit with a genuine smile on his face. He was looking at Stiles like there was nothing else in the room and Stiles couldn’t help his cheeks growing pink and his heart racing in his chest.

“So what changed?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, you, why did you decide to come?”

“I told you,” Derek said, hands firm against Stiles’ waist and back. “Scott needed a ride.”

“Yeah, yeah, why don’t you just say that you figured it might actually be a fun night?” he said.

“Because that would be a lie,” he said. “I came because I knew you’d want me here, _and_ because Scott needed a ride.”

“I love you,” he said. “I know I say it too often sometimes, but I didn’t think it was possible to feel like this all the time.”

Derek shook his head but leant in anyway, lips parted to catch Stiles’ lips and keep him from saying everything that was on his mind in one long breath. Stiles let his hand fall to cup Derek’s cheek and pulled back with a grin.

“Well whatever your reason was, I’m glad you came,” he said. “The whole pack can be together before we all leave high school. Damn, that still sounds so weird coming out of my mouth.”

“Speaking of,” Derek said. “Your dad said something about college earlier, were you ever planning on telling me what you finally decided.”

Stiles nodded a little, exhaling heavily.

“Well, I applied for quite a few schools,” he said. “And there were a few that stood out.”

“You got accepted into more than one?” Derek asked.

He nodded again.

“Well, I think we can rule out Denver,” he said and Derek narrowed his eyes a little. “It would just feel weird and more than a little creepy to tell you the truth.”

“That’s probably a good decision,” he said.

“The other place I got accepted into was… well, Portland,” he said and Derek merely gave him a nod. “It’s a good school, a great program, and you know, it’s not too far away really, only a state away.”

He could see Derek’s jaw set in a hard line, felt him tense up against him and he almost felt bad. He knew he had to put him out of his misery.

“But I think Berkeley is the better choice.”

Derek looked up with surprise and Stiles grinned.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” he said as Derek narrowed his eyes again.

“You got in to Berkeley?”

“Full ride,” he said with his smile wide. “Apparently my essay explaining why conservative and traditional views in society hinder advancement and actually set back our initiative potential was a hit.”

“You wrote about werewolves didn’t you?”

Stiles grinned again. “We really do need to start looking at myths and studying how they could have evolved rather than just assuming they’ve stayed the same throughout history, just like anything else.”

“You’re too much of a smart-ass for your own good, you know that?” Derek said, the smile back playing on his face at the idea that Stiles would only be a few hours away for college instead of the alternative.

“I try,” he said.

“I’m proud of you,” he said and Stiles blushed again.

He leant down to kiss him again just as the music changed, the fast beat back and Stiles pulled his lips back with a look to Derek that he didn’t like one bit.

“Oh no,” he said but Stiles was already bobbing to the music.

“Live a little,” he said and Derek shook his head, but he didn’t walk away.

Allison and Boyd came to join the others on the floor, the lot of them joining together to dance, forgetting the things they had endured and just being happy that they made it this far.

The beat was pounding and their bodies moved with it, beaming smiles and shuffling feet. Even Derek found it within himself to move, though he would vehemently deny it if ever anyone asked.

Scott and Isaac never strayed far from one another. While things were not fixed they were definitely mending, and when they were able to get a quiet moment after that night they finally had the chance to talk.

It wasn’t easy, and there were still things that hadn’t been said but time would come for that. It wasn’t hard to find their way back, even after it all their bond was stronger than the battles they faced, and they both knew that they would rather face them together than apart.

The prom marked a change in all their lives, a new beginning. Things would certainly change, but the important things would remain as they all moved into the future.

It was far from the end, if anything it was time for a new chapter to begin.

 

 

                                                **_END._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this story, thanks so much for reading guys! Stay turned for Book 3, _**Reckless Encounters**_!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and let me know what you guys think!


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